By Efio-Ita Nyok |31 July 2015 |7:31am
Today, Friday 31 July 2015 marks the auspicious day when the suit between Benedict Ayade and Joe Agi will be given a final resolution, albeit for the time being considering the possibility of an appeal.
If we recall, the said suit was adjourned to today on Wednesday 22 July when the lead counsel to Ayade, Paul Erokoro SAN, requested so, hinging his request for a postponement on the premise that his client was not in the 'right state of mind' to receive any judgement because of the protest of taxi drivers in the metropolis of the state capital, Calabar, to the office of the state governor.
While the postponement incited variant reactions, some arguing in favour of the thesis that the court was in error to have recognised whatsoever state of mind of a recipient of law, another thesis contended that the court was on the right course to have taken such a decision, the fact still remains that the long awaited day has arrived.
The question begging the mind is, will Justice Kufre Atti, the presiding judge on Ayade Vs Agi, sitting in the federal high court in Abuja, allow justice a chance this morning? Will the impending judgement on this case be averted either by another postponement, based on whatever sentiment, or a rape/travesty on justice? Will today Friday 31 July 2015 record a watershed in the history of the state?
Will the learned Erokoro succeed in convincing Justice Atti into taking sides with the thesis that there was/is nothing substantially wrong in the conflict of records in the dates of birth of Ayade as they appear on his birth certificate/drivers license and his governorship nomination form? Or, will Agi successfully will the presiding judge onto his side to see that misrepresentation at this level and in this context is unforgivable and rightfully deserving of the censure of the law?
Be that as it may, I want to believe that justice will prevail today. I wish both Ayade and Agi well. But I wish the unhindered course of justice more wellness today. May justice prevail today through and through beyond every subjective or ideological sentiments.
I rest my case for now.
