The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) Plc has been dragged to a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory by victims of the company’s 750 KVA transformer explosion in Lugbe. They are demanding payment of adequate compensation.

The Registered Trustees of Downtrodden Peoples Employment Foundation Worldwide, Messrs Stephen Gbaera, Ijeoma Onwuannum, Omowumi Adams, Olagoke Ajewole and Oyewole Pelumi, are the plaintiffs.

The plea was contained in a writ of summons filed on August 11 by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Hassan Omolowo, on Friday in Abuja.
The other defendants listed in the suit are Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Rural Electrification Agency, Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission and the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency.

The rest are Consumer Protection Council, Minister of Power as well as the Attorney General of the Federation.

The suit had listed Olelewe James, Moses Joseph and Ayiyeli Justina, a mother of three, as those who died from electrocution, caused by the explosion.

According to the process, Stephen Gbaera, Ijeoma Onwuannum, Omowumi Adams, Olagoke Ajewole Oyewole Pelumi, Kayode Akindele, Pius Moses, Peter Destiny and Donald Terlumun suffered degrees of injuries from the explosion.
They had asked for special damages for families of the victims and surviving victims and those who lost property in accordance with the traditions of the Nigerian Electricity Sector Industry and International best practices.

They further urged the Court to use its discretion for payment of general damages for the alleged patent gross act of negligence by the first defendant.
According to them, the Court should also compel the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth defendants to pay general damages for their alleged dereliction of regulation oversight.

The plaintiffs also sought a declaration that the explosion of the transformer installed at the Angwan Tiv within Tudun Wada village, Lugbe, on July 2 led to the death and injuries of the listed victims.

They further prayed the Court to hold that the incident also led to the loss of property by residents of the village.
Besides, the plaintiffs urged the Court to declare that the explosion came as an act of negligence by the first defendant as it failed to respond to several entreaties for the upgrade of the electricity network.

They also sought the Court to declare that the incident reflected the general poor and low standards of electricity equipment operated by the first, second and third defendants.
They prayed the Court to further declare that the first, second and third defendants had neither deployed nor adequately invested in the provision of technically safe electrical equipment in accordance with their operating licences.

They sought for a declaration that the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth defendants did not take adequate and practical regulatory steps to ensure the safe, standard and efficient distribution of electricity in the Country.

The plaintiffs, therefore, prayed for an order compelling the first, second and third defendants to ensure their electrical facilities and customers against varied industrial hazards and mishaps in line with industrial Safety Code, among others. [myad]

The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is scheduled to hold meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari and Nothern state governors when he arrived Nigeria on August 23 to discuss US cooperation with Nigeria over Boko Haram, economy and human rights issues.

A statement by the Information Office of the Embassy of the US on Friday in Abuja, said that Kerry would hold meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari and Northern Governors.

The statement said that the Secretary will travel to Sokoto and Abuja on August 23 to 24, adding:: “Kerry will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss counter terrorism efforts, the Nigerian economy, the fight against corruption and human rights issues.

“In Sokoto, he will deliver a speech on the importance of resilient communities and religious tolerance in countering violent extremism.

“In Abuja, the Secretary will meet with a group of adolescent girls working to change community perceptions that devalue the role of girls in society. He will also meet with northern governors and religious leaders.” [myad]

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed appreciation to the judiciary over the Appeal Court judgment that upheld the election of Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.

The court set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Okon Abang.

In a statement, the party’s Chief Spokesman, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, described the ruling of the appellate Court as a triumph of the rule of law and victory for democracy.

“What transpired at the Court of Appeal on Thursday has, once again, rekindled our trust in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.”

The Court of Appeal had, in Abuja on Thursday, upheld the election of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as governor of Abia.

Justice Morenikeji Ogunwumiju led four other Justices of the appellate court to unanimously set aside the June 27 decision of the Federal High Court which sacked Ikpeazu from office.

The others judges are Justice Abubakar Yahaya, Justice Philomena Ekpe, Justice Ibrahim Bdliya and Justice Saidu Hussaini.

The court delivered judgments on six appeals filed by interested parties in the governorship tussle.

Ikpeazu had challenged his removal on account of an allegation of falsification of his tax papers.

The governor joined  the judgment creditor, PDP, INEC and Friday Nwosu as the respondents. Uche Ogah,

Ogunwumiju held that the trial court erred and his decision was pre-judicial.

She also held that it was wrong for the plaintiff to have approached the trial court with an originating summons without affidavit evidence.

“The appeal has sought the leave of court to decide whether the court was right to have based its decision on suit that was brought by way of originating procedure.

As for us here, the suit should have been by way of a writ of summons as it required affidavit evidence to proof a criminal allegation of tax falsification.

The trial court was hostile and pre-judicial as the judge shifted the burden of proof from the plaintiffs to the defendant (Ikpeazu),” she said.

Ogunwumiju further held that no cause of action was established when the suit was instituted.

She said Nwosu, one of the candidates at the December, 2014 primaries of the party had filed his suit before Ikpeazu’s name was submitted to INEC as PDP governorship Candidate.

“In fact the allegation should have come before the governorship election being a pre-election matter.

Looking at the substance of the case, the appellant was not to blame for any error noticed in the tax certificate submitted to election body.

The information has not established any grounds to show that the governor used it to gain advantage on the rest contestants,” she said.

Ogunwumiju said: “the worrisome aspect of the trial decision was that the judge imported words into the PDP guidelines to gain appropriate grip on the appellant”.

“It is my opinion that Justice Okon Abang sat in his Chamber to speculate what Ikpeazu earned while he served as a Civil Servant in Abia State.

The annoying part is that, he went further to bar the Director of Abia State Revenue Authority, James Okogie, from giving evidence, describing the move as an afterthought.

This can simply be described as an abortion of justice as the governor was not giving fair hearing to defending himself.

In the light of the above, the decision of the trial court dated June 27 is set aside along with the consequential order.

By this, we mean Ikpeazu is returned as governor of Abia State,” she held.

Also delivering judgment on the governor’s appeal on the jurisdiction of the trial while a notice of appeal was served it, Justice Philomina Ekpe, held that the jurisdiction of the lower court seized immediately the appeal was entered.

“Justice Abang failed to act in line with the doctrine of ‘stari decisis’. He was compelled to transfer the record of the case to the Court of Appeal for determination the moment he was notified of the pending appeal,” Philomina said.

The judge had on July 8 insisted that he had jurisdiction to hear a motion for stay of execution of his earlier judgments delivered even after the appeals against the judgments had been entered.

Ekpe also held that the trial court wrongly interpreted the provisions of Order 4(10) and (11) of the Court of Appeal rules in that circumstance.

“The trial judge should have been aware that he lacked jurisdictions to interpret the provisions of the Court of Appeal being the rules of a superior court,” she said.

NAN reports that the other appeals filed by Obasi Mba, Nwosu, Chukwuemeka Mba were all decided in favour of the governor with N100, 000 each to also be paid by them. [myad]