Okorie, APGA Ask Appeal Court President to Probe Lawyer over Unauthorised Appeal

In a recent development at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria, the former National Chairman and founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, has filed an application asking the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dipo Bolanle, to investigate a lawyer, Mr Sopuluchukwu Ezeonwuka, for filing an unauthorized appeal on his behalf.

The controversy began when Ezeonwuka filed an appeal on behalf of Okorie against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Enugu, which dismissed his suit challenging the eligibility of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Hope Uzodinma, in the Imo State governorship election held on March 9, 2019.

Okorie had approached the Federal High Court seeking an order setting aside the certificate of return issued to Uzodinma by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 17, 2019, on the grounds that Uzodinma did not meet the constitutional requirement for the governorship position. However, the court dismissed the suit on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, Okorie engaged Ezeonwuka to file an appeal on his behalf at the Court of Appeal. However, it was discovered that Ezeonwuka had filed the appeal without obtaining a valid mandate from Okorie.

In his application before the President of the Court of Appeal, Okorie argued that he had not authorized Ezeonwuka to file the appeal on his behalf and that he had not even seen the appeal documents before they were filed. He also stated that he had instructed another lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), to handle his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Okorie prayed the President of the Court of Appeal to investigate the unauthorized filing of the appeal by Ezeonwuka and to take appropriate disciplinary action against him. He also urged the court to strike out the appeal for want of jurisdiction and for being an abuse of court process.

The application is yet to be ruled upon by the President of the Court of Appeal. The development is a reminder of the importance of due process and authorization in legal matters to avoid unnecessary litigation and confusion.