The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has said it does not expect justice from a judge of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Hon. Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam.
Daylop-Pam is presiding over a suit brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking to delist 16 National Assembly candidates of the national ruling party from the 2023 ballot.
The ruling party candidates had petitioned the Judge, urging his to recuse himself from the suit considering his alleged to relationship with the leadership of the PDP in the state.
APC, in a statement in Port Harcourt on Sunday by the Acting Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said the decision of the judge to continue to preside over the much publicized suit, is highly reprehensible and a clear danger signal to the Nigerian Judiciary.
The statement read in part: “It is already in the public domain that all sixteen NASS candidates have via countless media briefings, oral submissions before the Court through Defense Counsel and written protestations routed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and the Administrative Judge of the Federal High Court, even to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, expressed total loss of confidence in Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam and asked that he tows the honourable path, by recusing himself in the said matter.
“You may recall that our Party held a joint media briefing with the 16 National Assembly candidates on the 16th August 2022 begging the National Judicial Council (NJC) and Nigerians to intervene by advising Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam to recuse himself from hearing our matter.
“Our pleas have obviously fallen on deaf ears, as the response to our correspondence to the Administrative Judge dated August 8 2022 which was brought to the notice of the Court, unfortunately, has amounted to pouring water on stone as Justice Pam has insisted on going ahead with the matter even in the face of very rowdy Court sessions widely reported even by reputable electronic and print media
