Magistrate court declines Udoedehe's victory, remand him in prison

Although a high court in Abuja yesterday gave an unconditional order of release to embattled ACN gubernatorial candidate, Akpan Udoedehe, an Uyo Chief Magistrate Court before which Senator Udoedehe was arraigned for arson and murder has declined jurisdiction in the matter and ordered he should be remanded in prison custody pending his proper arraignment at the high court which has the jurisdiction to try him.
Chief Magistrate Edet Obot in his ruling, yesterday, said though the law requires 14 days for proceedings to be transferred to the high court, in view of the personality involved, the State Director of Public Prosecutions should file the necessary processes before the high court that will determine his bail within 24 hours.
Declining jurisdiction in the matter after reviewing the submissions of both the defence counsel and the police, Chief Magistrate Obot said the law creating the Magistrate Court did not “give it powers to entertain the case of murder,” thus his court could not dwell on the matter.
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and governorship candidate of the ACN was flown to Uyo on Monday, April 4, 2011 and was arraigned before the State Chief Magistrate Court the following day on nine-count charge.
Wailing supporters
Supporters of the governorship hopeful wept bitterly as the court denied their candidate freedom, cursing and calling on God’s anger upon his persecutors.
Plea by the defence counsel, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, that the accused be kept in the police custody was rejected by the Chief Magistrate, who advised that such plea should be addressed at the high court.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the ruling, Osinbajo, SAN, said: “We are not entirely surprised of the outcome; we think this is a clear case of continuing act of intimidation and aggression against the ACN governorship candidate and a further step to keep him out of circulation to frustrate his victory in the governorship race.
“This is an assault on the rule of law, it is a horrible thing indeed. Even in the military era it did not happen, so history would judge the persons launching this injustice and pathological debasement on other human beings.”
Tinubu speaks
Meanwhile, former Governor of Lagos State and chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has condemned the continued detention of the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Senator James Akpan Udoedehe.
He said the detention was based on a hurriedly passed law which was being applied retroactively.
Tinubu also frowned at the silence of President Goodluck Jonathan over the lingering political turmoil in  Akwa_Ibom, a situation he described as shameful and regrettable.
The ACN chieftain who spoke with newsmen at the presidential lounge of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, said it was a calculated attempt by the state government to keep the ACN’s candidate out of circulation to scuttle his chances at the polls.
Tinubu said: “Today he was remanded by magistrate court in Akwa Ibom, pursuant to a law that was retroactively passed, a law that was passed on March 31. He was accused of having committed offence on March 21. This law was made on March 31 and gazetted yesterday while we were waiting to go to court.
“This afternoon he was remanded for a further 24 hours and we filed an application for him. Clearly, it’s an attempt to get him out of circulation to ensure that  he is unable to campaign, to ensure that he is unable to run.”
The ACN chieftain lamented that the present situation in the country “is worse than what we saw under the military, making laws over night, especially laws that are meant to destabilize, to oppress the opposition. It is a shame. I have never seen anything like this in a civilian regime. It is very, very sad.
“It is a shame that the President has refused to speak up against the very clear oppression that is going on out there in Akwa Ibom State. I would have expected that by now the President would have spoken up against what is going on in that state. The Inspector General of Police has held this man despite the fact that he was released on bail by the Federal High court in Abuja.”
Tinubu was optimistic Senator James will come out victorious at the polls. He said: “I think a lot of people now know that clearly this man is being oppressed because there is a real threat to the governor  there in terms of his leadership, in terms of whether he will be re-elected or not. So, it is clear that there is a possibility of this man emerging as the next governor of that state.”

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