THE court of appeal in Abuja on Thursday has affirmed Ifeanyi Ubah as the senator representing Anambra south senatorial district, voiding the previous judgement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which had sacked him.

A three-man panel of the court, led by Justice Stephen Adah held that the judgment of the lower court which sacked Ubah as a senator is a nullity on the grounds that the originating process which led to the judgement by the lower court was given without jurisdiction and that Ubah was denied a fair hearing.

Ubah’s election had been annulled on April 11, 2019, by Bello Kawu, judge of a federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Kubwa, on the grounds that he presented a forged National Examination Council (NECO) certificate to INEC.

Onyeachi Ikpeazu, the counsel of the appellant argued that the proceedings and the judgment emanating from the high court were not done through the due process.

The Appeal Court also found that the originating summons, with which the case was commenced before the FCT High Court was not signed by any lawyer as required by the rules of the High Court of the FCT.

Hence, the judge ruled  that “A document that is not signed is a worthless piece of paper and has no credibility,”  Adah said.

“Right to a fair hearing is very fundamental and anything did afterwards results to a nullity.”

“The judgment of the lower court is a nullity and is hereby set aside,” the judge said.

Besides setting aside the judgment, Justice Adah also granted a perpetual injunction restraining the Clerk of the Senate and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from acting on the April 11, 2019 judgment which has been voided for being a nullity.