Sentoar Osita Izunaso would have been sent to prison by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, but for the decision to heed the advice that judges should use their powers sparingly.
This is because he considered the action of the senator as a “rascality of the highest order.”
“We have been trained to use our summary powers sparingly, I will leave the senator to his conscience, he is accordingly discharged even though I find his conduct before the court contemptuous,” the judge said.
Izunaso who is the third defendant in the case filed by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State over his certificate of return which was not issued to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was accused of being on unruly.
During the resumed hearing of the case, the judge announced that he received an affidavit of fact which was filed by the senator that he had an application at the Court of Appeal for stay of proceeding in the matter.
The announcement was followed by prayers from the counsels to the defendants that the application for stay of proceedings should be honoured.
But Okorocha’s counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, disagreed with them as he urged the court to dismiss it.
He argued that the application was incompetent.
After the submissions, the judge directed the registrar to stand in front of the court while he ruled on the matter.
Giving his ruling, he said that to put the name of a presiding judge as one of the parties to be served a court process filed at the Court of Appeal showed disrespect for the court.
He further described it as scandalous and embarrassing.
His words: “The motion filed at the Court of Appeal where my name is recorded is before me, tagged as Exhibit C, attached to the third defendant’s affidavit of facts.
“The third defendant is also before me so I have jurisdiction over him summarily, if that was not sufficient, he deposed to an affidavit that the motion was duly served on me.
“This is only to ridicule the court and lower the esteem of the judge in the eye of the public as if the judge is a party in the matter.
“This shows the level of disregard Izunaso has for the court which is established by the constitution.”
He went further: “I have jurisdiction to deal with him summarily because he is the contemnor and he is before the court.
“The senator ought to have been remanded in prison today for contempt of court, he is before me and the offensive affidavit is also before me.”
Justice Abang however said that because of the plea by Okorocha’s lawyer, Ogunwumiju, Izunaso should “go home and sin no more.”
“Having regards to the passionate plea from the learned senior counsel, (Ogunwumiju), I will let the distinguished senator go home today, not because the court is weak or cowardly.
“We have been trained to use our summary powers sparingly, I will leave the senator to his conscience, he is accordingly discharged even though I find his conduct before the court contemptuous,” the judge said.
On the issue of the motion filed by the senator for stay of proceeding, Abang said “it is safer to adjourn proceedings in this matter for mention, to abide by the decision of the Court of Appeal with respect to the pending application for stay of proceedings.
“The Court of Appeal did not order stay of proceedings so I can’t stay proceedings, I will only adjourn for mention.”
