A socio-cultural organisation, Niger-Delta Peace and Justice Movement on
Sunday raised the alarm that the governorship candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) in the last election in Bayelsa State, Timipre
Sylva, was trying to frustrate the Supreme Court from serving him with the
counter appeal filed by the incumbent governor Henry Seriake Dickson.
The organisation also accused him of using surrogates in the media to
sponsor “untenable whitewashing” to canvass for a favourable position on
his appeal against the election of the state governor.
The General Secretary of NDPJM, Stephen Ebibofa, in a statement claimed
that Sylva was trying to buy time by dodging the Supreme Court bailiffs
from serving him or his lawyer the appeal papers.
According to hm, it was obvious that Sylva’s antics were meant to
manipulate the judiciary for a favour in the case.
Governor Dickson, PDP and INEC had countered Sylva’s appeal challenging
the verdict of the Court of Appeal which had upheld Dickson’s election.
But all attempts by the apex court bailiffs to serve Sylva, it was
gathered, proved abortive for the whole of last week.
Investigations showed that the Lead Counsel to Sylva, Sebastine Hon, SAN,
shut his Abuja office, located at16, Dan Suleiman Street, behind Utako
Market in Utako Central Business District in Abuja, throughout last week
to evade being served with the court papers.
It was further gathered that the bailiffs, who were sighted at Hon’s
office on Thursday and Friday last week, left the office frustrated.
However, sources close to Sylva hinted that the office will continue to be
shut for the whole of this week to drag the matter further and buy time
until a new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) is appointed on November
10before Sylva and his lawyer will be available for service of the court
papers.
Ebibofa intimated in the statement that the Presidency and APC leadership
were heaping pressure on the current CJN not to assign the Sylva appeal to
any panel of justices until Justice Onoghen is sworn in as CJN. This, he
stated, was a calculated attempt to influence the course of justice as he
warned of the consequences of such intentions.
“Sylva is causing unnecessary delay to avoid the hearing of the appeal he
brought before the Supreme Court. It is instructive for all patriots to
note that the likes of Sylva are a threat to our democracy and judiciary.
Obviously, he has no respect for institutions of state, believing that any
institution can be bought or rubbished as he’s bragging and boasting all
over and dropping the name of President Muhammadu Buhari but he can’t
escape the proper hearing of this consequential appeal”, the group stated.
When contacted last night, the Special Adviser on Media Relations to
Governor Dickson, Francis Agbo criticized Sylva for wasting the precious
time of the Supreme Court and advised the apex court not to be intimidated
by Sylva and the APC.
While declaring that Bayelsans overwhelmingly re-elected Governor Dickson
in the polls, Agbo noted that Sylva’s hide and seek game will not distract
the Governor from delivering on his campaign promises to the people.
Ebibofa also lashed out at the former governor for his alleged sponsorship
of “untenable whitewashing’ publications in the media to canvass for a
“questionable ruling” at the apex court.
He drew specific attention to a publication by one Anayo Okolie in THISDAY
Newspapers dated October 30 and entitled: “Bayelsa: Who is afraid of the
Supreme Court” which, he claimed, went beyond the curve of objective
journalism.
“The resort to using sponsored surrogates in the media cannot save Sylva
and his acolytes as we believe justice will be done as a necessity in this
case”.