An Appeal Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, dismissed the appeal filed by one of the governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Akan Okon.
Mr Akan Okon had instituted the case over alleged certificate forgery and eligibility of the party’s governorship candidate, Pastor Umo Eno.
He prayed the court to disqualify Pastor Eno and declare him as the winner of the party’s primary, being the second highest scorer with three votes at the nomination exercise.
The Federal High Court in Uyo, presided over by Justice Agatha Okeke dismissed the case against the PDP candidate for want of merit and awarded 15 million naira damage against Mr Akan Okon.
The plaintiff, Mr Akan Okon however, headed to the appellate court where he lost again. The three-man panel headed by Justice William Daudu upheld the ruling of the lower court.
The panel maintained that Mr Akan Okon failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt his case challenging the eligibility of Pastor Umo Eno, as well as the allegations of forgery against the PDP candidate.
The panel also reduced the fine of fifteen million naira earlier pronounced by the lower court to five million naira, saying that both the plaintiff and the defendant were from the same family of the PDP and can still work together.
The appeal court also upheld the decision of the lower court to ignore the report of the forensic expert brought by the appellant, saying it was within the discretion of the court.
