CaseLaw
Ugwu V. Igwe (1999) CLR 4(h) (CA)
Brief
Facts
In the nationwide Local Government election held on 5/12/98, the 1st respondent vied under the banner of Alliance for Democracy (AD). The Appellant contested on the platform of All Peoples Party (APP). One Simeon Akaeme tried his chance under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The appellant was returned as the winner on 5/1298 a Councilor elect of the stated ward. The 1st respondent was not satisfied with the return of the appellant. In short, he felt he had cause to cry foul. The 1st respondent filed his petition at the Election Tribunal Registry on 21/12/98. Eze O. Eze Esq. learned counsel for the 2nd-3rd respondents, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated 7/1/99 on 18/1/99. He raised objection to the jurisdiction of the tribunal as, according to him, the petition is incompetent having been filed out of time allowed by law. In the reply filed on behalf of the appellant on 21/1/99, paragraph 5 contains a challenge to the competence of the petition.
The preliminary objection was taken on 23/1/99. The tribunal overruled the objection in a rather hasty fashion. The tribunal stated that the period of 5/12/98, when the result was declared and 22/12/98 when petition was filed, is 13 days. The trial tribunal then went ahead to determine the petition in favour of the petitioner/respondent on 8/2/99. The stance of the tribunal precipitated this appeal.
Issues
Whether the petition was filed within time allowed by law thereby giving the...