Bayelsa Speaker Kombowei Benson yesterday vowed not to vacate his Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 seat following controversies surrounding the Court of Appeal judgement that declared his April 11, 2015 election null and void.
Benson insisted that the purported written judgement was different from the record of court’s proceeding on December 9, 2015.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, in a written judgement delivered on December 9, 2015 nullified the April 2015 election that returned Benson.
The court, in a copy of the ruling, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh poll within 90 days to fill the seat.
The Speaker was sacked in a case filed by Mr. Ebifaghe Orunimighe, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the seat of the House of Assembly in Southern Ijaw Constituency 4.
According to a copy of the judgement, Justices Mohammed Lawal Garba, Ejembi Eko and Stephen Jonah Adah, sat on the three-man panel that nullified Benson’s election.
The judgement, which resolved issues 1, 2 and 3 in favour of the APC candidate, was delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko and signed by other justices on the panel.
Eko said: “I allow the appeal in substantial part. My findings on issues 1, 2 and 3 justify the declaration that the election/return of the first respondent Hon. Benson Friday Kombowei, as the purported winner of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly seat for Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 elections held on April 11, 2015 was null and void.”
But about 60 days after, Benson faulted the authenticity of the written judgement saying the record of proceeding on that day showed that the appeal of the APC candidate was dismissed in the open court.
Addressing journalists in his office at the House of Assembly complex Yenagoa, Benson insisted that the ruling of 9th December upheld his election and dismissed the appeal filed by the APC candidate.
He said: “On the 9th of December, the appeal court dismissed the appeal by Orunimighe challenging my election. On January 14th, a purported judgement alleging that my election has been declared null and void emerged. This is strange and untrue.
“What transpired in the open court in the presence of lawyers was outright dismissal of the appeal brought by my opponent. The judgement was delivered in the open court thereby upholding my election in the House of Assembly.”
Benson said to further clarify the issues and put the record straight, he had through his team of lawyers filed a motion on notice praying the Appeal Court to set aside the judgement that was not in conformity with its declaration in the open court on December 9.
He said the motion on notice further prayed the court to make an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stay execution on the judgment pending the determination of the motion on notice.
“This motion has been served on the National Judicial Commission (NJC), President of the Appeal Court, the Department of Security Service (DSS), Commissioner of Police, Clerk of the House and other officers and some important personalities.’’
Benson said he remained the speaker and would continue to preside over the affairs of the House of Assembly pending resolution of the case.
But the APC candidate for Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 accompanied by his Media Aide, Bodmas Debekeme and his lawyer, called on Benson to respect the judgment of the Court of Appeal and stop playing to the gallery.
Oruminighe warned Benson to stop parading himself as Speaker or risk going to prison for contempt.
He noted that his lawyers had begun a process of filling a contempt suit against Benson.
According to him: “It is unfortunate that Kombowei Benson is accentuated by greed and desperation to disseminate such deliberate falsehood to mislead members of the society including his pastors and church members.’’
He noted that the Court of Appeal did not give two conflicting judgments as falsely claimed by Benson.
He said that the judgement which sacked Benson was the only subsisting judgement adding that speaker, his team of lawyers, had copies of the same ruling.