Skip to main content

Atiku hits INEC over ‘harsh’ comment on his lawyer

- PDP's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has replied INEC over comments on his lead counsel

- INEC had said that Atiku's lead consel, Livy Uzoukwu, was not on the roll call of lawyers called to the bar in the country

- Atiku stressed that the electoral body exhibited crass ignorance in the use of abbreviations by counsels

Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said that his lead counsel, Livy Uzoukwu, at the tribunal, is qualified to practise in Nigeria.

The Cable reports that Atiku's legal team at the tribunal where he is challenging the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari, comprises 31 lawyers led by Uzoukwu.

Legit.ng gathered that in its response as the first respondent in the case, INEC had said the petition filed by Atiku was not signed by a legal practitioner licensed to practise in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

The electoral body challenged the choice of Uzoukwu, saying he was not on the roll call of lawyers called to the bar in the country.

But reacting in a statement by Phrank Shaibu, his spokesman, Atiku said the counter affidavit “specifically referred to documents signed by the learned SAN as Dr. Livy Uzoukwu as against one Dr. Livinus Uzoukwu which INEC acknowledged to be on the roll call, arguing that both names could not be referring to one and same person.”

Atiku said the electoral body exhibited “crass ignorance” as the use of abbreviations by counsels had been settled by the Supreme Court.

He alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and INEC have assembled a team of lawyers “intent on misleading the courts and Nigerians in general.”

“It’s either INEC is not aware or chose to maintain a blind eye as far as this issue is concerned. How can you say a former Attorney General of Imo state and a SAN is not qualified to practice law in Nigeria? he asked.

Citing a Supreme Court judgement permitting counsels to use abbreviations as well as their full names, Atiku said the use of Livy as against Livinus in the roll call of lawyers called to the bar does not in anyway diminish the qualification of his counsel.

“In the case of DANKWANBO v ABUBARKAR (2015) LPELR-25716(SC), the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment comprising of a full court of 7 Justices held: Whether an abbreviated name of counsel is permissible for endorsement on court processes, I must say clearly, that an abbreviated name is legal and permissible'', the court judgement quoted by Atiku, read in part.

“It does not cease to be a person’s name or render it to lose its juristic personality. In other words, an abbreviation of the first name of any person whose name is on the roll of legal practitioners does not render the abbreviated name to become unregistered or unknown to law as argued by the appellant.

READ ALSO: Former Anambra lawmaker assassinated by unknown gunmen

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly insisted the result from the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed he defeated President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? | - on Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng



from Legit.ng: Latest Nigeria News Today & Breaking Naija News 24/7 http://bit.ly/2V1DhIz
via EDUPEDIA24/7

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis : 

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi