A socio-political group, Akwa Ibom Liberation Movement (AILM) has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state not to blame Justice Jennifer Ijohor for their seeming poor outing at the Tribunal.
The group while reacting to demands by the APC for the removal of Ijihor from the tribunal, stressed that the party should rather focus on getting their lawyers and witnesses to present a formidable case.
Addressing journalists in Uyo on Sunday, Acting Secretary of AILM, Barr. Solomon Abasiekong, said the APC demand indirectly reflects their resort to blackmail having performed poorly at the tribunal.
Let everyone note that the attempt by APC to blackmail members of the tribunal particularly Justice Ijohor, is the last resort for the party. By now the APC knows it has no case; however leaders of the party are looking for what to hold on to.
We advise them to desist from their current deceitful attempt to whip unnecessary sentiments against the election petitions tribunal by blaming Justice Jennifer Ijohor for its woes at the election tribunal, he said.
Abasiekong alleged that the leadership of APC in the State was making frantic attempts to accuse members of the tribunal of compromise, with the intent to have some of them replaced.
The group claimed it has received reliable intelligence that stalwarts of the APC are working frantically towards relocating the tribunal to Abuja.
We are aware of the antics of the APC, part of it is to accuse the tribunal of working for the PDP and using that to campaign for the relocation of the tribunal from the State.
Every reasonable person who has followed proceedings of the tribunal will quickly corroborate that there has not been any crises or security challenge to warrant any person or group to call for the relocation of the tribunal.
The group called on the President of the Court of Appeal to ignore the purported attempt by Akwa Ibom APC to have the tribunal relocated from Uyo.
Source: NAN