Counsel to former Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim, Chief Aloy Ejimakor, yesterday, said that Lady Chinyere Amuchienwa (nee Igwegbe) has lost her bid to stop an Imo State High Court from hearing the case filed by Ohakim against her and the police.
The case borders on basic human rights enforcement. Ejimakor told The Guardian at Umuahia that the court, presided over by Justice I. G. Chukwunyere, after hearing his (Ejimakor/Ohakim’s) submissions, upheld them and ruled that “Amuchienwa’s application was pre-emptive and therefore refused. The application fails and is accordingly struck out.”
Ejimakor, who spoke when asked to state the present stage/position of the pending suit between Amuchienwa and Ohakim, made copies of Ohakim’s suit and the court ruling available to The Guardian.
He said that Amuchienwa who had been accusing Ohakim of some wrongdoings, for which Ohakim had sued her, asked the court to refer Ohakim’s case against her from the High Court to the Court of Appeal, stating the originating case reference suit as No. HOW/717/2020.
Ejimakor also said that Amuchienwa had in her application argued that under the Constitution, the High Court could refer a case concerning an issue of interpretation and application of the Constitution but that he (Ejimakor) argued otherwise, hence the case before the court concerned enforcement of fundamental rights and not interpretation and application of the Constitution.
According to Ohakim’s lawyer, “the same ruling was made in a sister case No. HOW/691/2020, in which the lady and the National Agency for Trafficking In Persons (NATIP) are parties.”
