A Federal High Court in Abuja has prevented police from inviting, arresting and detaining Michael Enyong, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Akwa Ibom State.
The judge, Kayode Agunloye, issued the restraining order on Friday in a lawsuit filed by NyaknnoAbasi Etuk, a lawyer for Enyong.
The defendants in the lawsuit include the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police and the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State.
“An injunctive relief order that restrains the defendants themselves, their servants, agents or whoever and by any means, from further inviting, arresting and detaining the applicant or taking further steps in connection with their invitation to the applicant, pending of the hearing and determination of the request”, ordered the court before adjourning the hearing until February 22.
PREMIUM TIMES reported on Friday that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the name of Mr. Enyong as the new PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state.
Mr. Enyong, a federal legislator, is currently serving a second term as a member representing the Uyo federal constituency in the National Assembly.
He replaced Governor Udom Emmanuel’s preferred successor, Umo Eno, who won the party’s primary last year.
INEC cited “injunction” as the reason for the replacement which is marked as “amendment #4” on its website.
forgery accusations
The PDP held its gubernatorial primaries in the state on May 25 last year at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, also known as the Nest of Champions, Uyo.
Eno, a former state Land and Water Commissioner, polled 993 votes to win the party’s ticket.
His closest rivals, Onofiok Luke and Akan Okon, each had three votes in a primary that registered two null votes out of the 1,018 accredited delegates for the exercise.
Mr. Enyong, who boycotted the exercise, came out on top in another PDP primary held at his compound at Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.
Thereafter, he had his primary results validated by the court which declared him the party’s bona fide candidate, an event that prompted his invitation by the police.
State police spokesman Odiko Macdon did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment about the police invitation to Mr. Enyong.
Uwemedimo Nwoko, a former state attorney general and Eno’s lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES that police invited Enyong for allegedly falsifying the results of the PDP gubernatorial primary and the signatures of party officials.
Mr. Nwoko, a senior Nigerian lawyer, said the court may not have known why Mr. Enyong was invited earlier, but acted to prevent violation of Mr. Enyong’s fundamental rights.
“The court cannot stop the police from carrying out their function, but it can make an interim order until it hears the details of the matter, which is what I believe was done in this matter.
“I think by the time they go to court on February 22, the police will present their own side of the story, clearly showing why they were invited. The Commissioner of Police invited him personally by telephone and sent him a letter. He promised to honor the invitation but then refused and ran to court,” Nwoko said.
Nwoko gave details of the forgery charge.
He said: “After the PDP gubernatorial primary held in May last year at the Nest of Champions, which was monitored by INEC and conducted by the special team sent from the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
“Mr. Enyong conducted his primary elections in his own home in Uyo and after the farce he went and falsified what he claimed were the results of those primaries, disseminated the results, shared the votes and falsified the letterhead of the PDP and the signatures of the National PDP. President, Secretary, Secretary of Organization, Electoral Official and Teller.
“He falsified the document to give the impression that he has the results sheet in his hand and these are the issues that they (the police) are asking him to answer. How Mr. Enyong obtained the document he is handling that he used to file a false affidavit with the court,” said Mr. Nwoko.
PDP was served but kept silent
PREMIUM TIMES could not reach Mr. Enyong for comment, but his lawyer, Mr. Etuk, confirmed on Saturday that Mr. Enyong held his primary at his home, but added that it was not bad because it was held in the state capital, which according to him is what the law stipulates. .
Mr. Etuk said that Mr. Nwoko has no basis to comment on such matters as he is not a policeman or a candidate for election, the party’s national chairman or a member of the PDP’s National Executive Committee.
He told PREMIUM TIMES that the PDP was notified of the legal proceedings, but they didn’t say anything and now they can’t use the police to intimidate their client.
“The fact of the matter is that the court has validated all the documents presented by Mr. Enyong and has passed judgment on them. The PDP was notified of this process and did not complain of falsification. So now they can’t use the police to trample on the rights and freedoms of citizens. That is why we have the court to protect.
“INEC was there (in court) and did not say that the results he (Mr. Enyong) is presenting are different from ours (INEC monitored election result) or that he has monitored any other election.
“They (INEC) submitted an affidavit of fact, so the court relied on that to make judgment and Mr. Nwoko retracted it because the court announced Mr. Enyong as the bona fide candidate, to say no, I have interest in another person.
“They ordered the Uyo police to come to Abuja to arrest Mr. Enyong. They gave him a cause of action by coming to Abuja to arrest him.
“In the document I submitted to the court, I have not seen the link between what Mr. Eno did and what Mr. Enyong did,” Etuk said.