The All Progressives Congress has accused the Rivers State Chief Judge of allegedly working after official hours in order to aid Senator Magnus Abe and his cohorts who are reportedly seeking an injunction to restrain it from going ahead with the conduct of its congresses.
The party said through its Spokesman, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke that around 4pm, Friday, 30th July, 2021, members of Abe’s Freedom House, in the company of their lawyers, were spotted at the premises of the Judiciary.
“We have learnt that at about 4pm today, Friday, 30th July, 2021, Senator Abe’s lawyers were seen filing papers to stop the APC from going along with its planned congress as approved by the National Secretariat.
“We have further learnt that the Chief Judge of the State who was still within the court premises”, purportedly after official hours, “may any moment from now assign the matter to a judge who would be expected to issue a restraining order”, the party noted in the statement.
The statement further said, “We are not surprised by the existence of the plot which was put to the test before the 2019 elections by Senator Magnus Abe and his external collaborators.”
“It has become necessary to inform members of the public, including our teeming supporters, of the existence of the plot that is being hatched to obstruct the conduct of the congress.
“It is quite clear by now that each time the APC plans to deepen its internal democracy through processes that would enable members test their popularity, certain paper tigers in our midst who lack active grassroot support connive with their friends in the other party to file frivolous cases.
“In the meantime, we urge our members to remain calm. We wish to assure the people of Rivers State, particularly our supporters, that no matter how long it takes to obtain justice, our party shall secure legal reliefs which would guarantee the right of our members to pursue their legitimate aspirations. This is our promise”, the APC added.
The Telegraph reports that the filing of cases in Rivers Courts is via electronic means.
What this means is that lawyers are no longer allowed under the new system to file matters manually.
Our sources say filing of matters by electronic means could take more than a day to achieve.
But we have learnt that as at the official closing hours at 4pm, no matter filed by Abe and his team was reportedly captured by the system.
This simply implies that if Abe and his supporters emerge with a restraining order stopping the APC after official hours, the only conclusion that rational minds can draw is that such action may have been contrived.
Early Friday, Senator Abe who invited the press for a briefing claimed that he had ordered his supporters to stay away from all centres at the ward level earmarked for Saturday’s congress.
Abe is also alleging that supporters of the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi have planned to attack his followers.
There is however no proof of allegations of violence credited to the former Senator who represented the Rivers South East Senatorial District.