Abuja — The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday reserved judgment indefinitely in the appeal filed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] governorship candidate in the April 14 2007 elections in Imo State, Chief Martin Agbaso who is asking the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to announce the result of the said poll.

Accordingly, the court said that the judgment date would be communicated to all the counsel in the matter.

The adjournment was after the parties in the appeal adopted their written addresses which were complemented with persuasive legal fireworks by the counsel in the appeal.

Counsel to INEC, Adetunji Oyeyipo argued that the court had no jurisdiction in announcing the result of the April 14 2007 governorship poll in Imo State because the appellant, Chief Agbaso participated in the second governorship election conducted in the state on April 28.

He said it was wrong for Agbaso to ask the court for an order of mandamus compelling the electoral body to release the April 14 polls pointing out that INEC never exhausted the internal remedy of asking it to announce the result before he rushed the court.

In his submission, counsel to Governor Ikedi Ohakim, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), who spoke on behalf of the lead counsel, Chief Bon Nwakamma (SAN), told the court that the results which Agbaso was relying upon in praying the court to declare him governor were mere photocopies that can not stand as certified true copies of the result.

He said there was no way the court would rely on such photocopies and declare Agbaso governor, just as he asked the court to discountenance such argument and dismiss same for lacking in merit.

He said Agbaso's failure to tender form EC8A and EC8B has rendered his 'appeal legally useless and evidentially worthless adding that they were not produced to authenticate the result.'

Responding, counsel to Agbaso, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), told the court that the issue of not producing certified true copies of the result as canvassed by Ohakim goes to no issue since the matter in question was not a civil matter but an election matter.

He said the issue in question (appeal) requires affidavit evidence and not certified true copies of results and that the court would do well to dismiss the argument of Ohakim's counsel in the interest of justice.

Aside from this, he told the court that Ifeanyi Ararume, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the said polls cannot be seeking to get what he lost at the Court of Appeal in Port-Harcourt since he did not secure a favourable relief from that court.

Meanwhile, lead counsel to Ifeanyi Ararume, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) told the court that that the best way to decide the appeal is for the court to order a re-run election where Ohakim would be excluded from contesting having decamped from the PDP.

He said the Supreme Court had long ago decided that Ararume is the PDP candidate as far as Imo governorship election was concerned and since Ohakim has left the party, he cannot be allowed to participate in any re-run if ordered, more so when he cannot go back to Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) as a candidate.

Agbaso in his briefs filed at the Appeal Court on Thursday October 28, 2009 and in line with the Appeal Court order of October 21, filed a voluminous address wherein he prayed the court to "on the strength of the only available record of the governorship election held on 14 April, 2007 produced before this Honourable Court, the appellant duly won more that the majority votes in more than the required two-third of the local government areas in Imo state".

Agbaso through his counsel Patrick Ikwueto [SAN] told the court that he ought to have been declared as the winner of the governorship election in Imo state.

Ikwueto said the INEC ought to be compelled to issue certificate of returns to Agbaso as the winner of the 2007 governorship poll in Imo State.

Giving reasons why Aagbaso ought to be declared winner of the said elections, Ikwueto gave a statistical details when he said the "appellant had an overwhelming lead in 24 out of 27 local government areas with 70 percent of the total votes cast.

"In Orsu local government area appellant won 98 percent of the results announced in 26 out of 27 while results of 24 out of 27 local government areas have been calculated at the state and at the state headquarters INEC instructed that the whole results must be sent to their office"

It would be recalled that the Appeal court had on October 21, reserved a date for parties in the appeal to come and adopt their addresses. The court specifically fixed November 12, 2009 for adoption of briefs of arguments and applications by all parties in the appeal.

The Court Abuja also gave effect to the order of the Supreme Court that the appeal be given accelerated hearing when it ordered the appellant (Agbaso) to file all his briefs within seven days. It also ordered all the respondents to turn in their replies within 10 days and that thereafter all replies on point of law should be filed within two days.