A member of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s legal team, Elder Chibuike Nwokeukwu, said on Monday that the team had challenged the Court of Appeal ruling against him.
Speaking with newsmen after a meeting of the elders of Ukwa and Ngwa at Osisioma, Abia, Nwokeukwu said that the judgment which came to them as a rude shock was a rape of justice requiring further legal test at the Supreme Court.
He urged the people of Abia to disregard the rumour that the Court of Appeal had asked that Dr Alex Oti of APGA be sworn in on Tuesday.
He said that Ikpeazu remained the governor until proved otherwise by the apex court.
Also speaking, the convener of the meeting, Dr Emmanuel Adaelu, said the elders met to air their grievances over the verdict of the Court of Appeal in Owerri.
“We feel very distressed, embarrassed, highly annoyed and we feel that the decision was a total deprivation of our fundamental human rights.
“To us, this is a rape of justice and it is unfair. We do not know why the judges we consider to hold the trust of the nation in relation to justice decided to give that kangaroo verdict.
“How can a court decide to cancel elections in three local governments in Ngwaland and the local government of Gov. Ikpeazu. That is to say that he did not vote for himself.
“We feel very distressed because of this disenfranchisement of our people. We have never seen its parallel in the history of election verdicts,” he said.
Adaelu further said that Ikpeazu’s team had already filed a suit at the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict because of the hope they had that the apex court would reverse the judgment.
He noted that the people of Ukwa and Ngwa with nine out of the 17 local governments had a history of political deprivation in Abia, adding that the opportunity they had in producing Ikpeazu would not be frittered away.
On his part, a former Senate President, Chief Adolphus Wabara, said that the people of Ukwa and Ngwa would fight for justice until the judgment against Ikpeazu was reversed.
Wabara wondered how 300,000 registered voters could be disenfranchised against their wish, stressing that the National Judicial Council should look into the judgment and act accordingly.