Remember that a similar Federal High Court sitting in Abuja invalidated the party's primary election a few days earlier.
In contrast, Justice Fatun Riman of the Federal High Court in Abakaliki approved the same PDP primary election held on May 28 and 29, 2022, in which a large number of candidates, including the Anyichuks, became victorious.
Riman decided that the August 28-29 PDP primary election still exists and is genuine.
Barr. Mudi Erenede, counsel for the PDP, told reporters in Abakaliki, "We have been overwhelmed with publications through social media claiming PDP chairman Tochukwu Okorie has filed." He obtained a ruling in Abuja that invalidated the PDP primaries. We have yet to see this ruling because he did not include Anyichuks, the PDP's gubernatorial candidate, in the lawsuit.
"Neither did he appoint Silas Onu, with whom he was battling his position as party chairman at the moment. So, they have recently filed a lawsuit against PDP and INEC, and the national adviser to PDP was unaware of these lawsuits until social media began to spread the story.
"You are aware that when you engage in criminal activity, you sometimes undo yourself unknowingly." We learned that the same Tochukwu Okorie, represented by the same attorney, filed the identical suit in Abuja, but the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court transferred the case back to the Abakaliki Federal High Court.
In a recent decision, the court determined that Tochukwu Okorie is exploiting the justice system. By pursuing the same lawsuit in multiple divisions over the same matter, he is "forum shopping."
"Tochukwu Okorie is engaging in forum shopping, thus we directed the court to Tochukwu Okorie and Obinna Ogba's suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/871/2022, which was also filed in Abuja and transferred here.
"Their practise has been to file cases in other divisions where they can obtain inexpensive judgments." The substance of this decision is that the claims brought by Tochukwu Okorie, which are for the court to nullify the primaries held on March 28 and March 29, as well as the PDP conventions, have been rejected by this court today.
Tochukwu Okorie, the state chairman of the PDP, stated that he had planned to withdraw the same lawsuit before it was dismissed today.
He added that the ruling handed down by Justice Fatun Riman today has nothing to do with the earlier ruling handed down by Justice Binta Nyako in Abuja.
