Imo West Senate Seat: Emelumba describes judgment as Travesty of Justice ….Says we will go to Court of Appeal for Redress

Imo West Senate Seat: Emelumba describes judgment as Travesty of Justice ….Says we will go to Court of Appeal for Redress

By Sampson Uhuegbu

The Imo State Government has faulted the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja declaring former Governor Rochas Okorocha winner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, primaries for Imo West Senatorial District, describing it as a complete travesty of justice.

The State Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, disclosed this in a press statement issued in Owerri on Wednesday.

Emelumba said the State Government will approach the Court of Appeal to reverse what he called a judgment delivered in defiance of extant judicial pronouncements of the Apex Court.

According to the Commissioner, the judgment by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, which ordered that Okorocha be published as winner of the APC primaries for Imo West, defied all known rules of law.

He said Justice Egwuatu was presented with Supreme Court judgments which held that matters pertaining to forgery and perjury cannot be entertained through Originating Summons procedure, but for unfathomable reasons, chose to defy the authority of the Supreme Court to deliver judgment in favour of Okorocha based on affidavit evidence founded on forged documents.

The Commissioner further argued that the court also ignored the Supreme Court ruling in Orji v Chima, which requires any litigant seeking to be declared winner of a primary election to file his case within 14 days of the primaries.

He noted that despite availing the court of that authority, Justice Egwuatu went ahead to overrule the preliminary objection even though he found that the sole issue for determination was who was the winner of the primary election conducted on May 18, 2026.

“This was in spite of the fact that Okorocha filed his case on 13th August, 2026, while the primaries were held on 18th May, 2026, a clear 87 days after,” Emelumba stated.

He maintained that as law-abiding citizens, the government and party would explore all judicial avenues available to set aside the Federal High Court ruling and recover the mandate.

Emelumba recalled that earlier this month, the Police arrested Okorocha and charged him to court for parading fake results of the APC primaries for Imo West Senatorial District.

He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had also disowned the fake document tendered by Okorocha, clarifying that the genuine winner of the APC primaries as submitted to INEC by the APC is Governor Hope Uzodimma.