Ogona Anita
The Rivers state All Progressives Congress APC has confirmed the release of t Three lawyers working for a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Tuduru Ede who were earlier arrested to day in port Harcourt.
The spokesperson of APC Darlington Nwaoju told newsmen that they have been released but the documents gathered for filing of petition are still with the police and posed three questions as thus:-
1. What offence is there to prepare to file a petition at a constituted tribunal?
2. What offence is it to lodge the team of lawyers and their support staff in a hotel?
3. By seizing the documents gathered for the filing, is the police working for the winners whose victories are to be challenged?
However the governorship candidate of the in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, earlier decried the arrest of three of his lawyers, filing proceedings at the election petition tribunal to challenge the March 18 Governorship election.
Cole alleged that five support staff of the party were also arrested by the operatives. It was gathered that the lawyers, attached to the chambers of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Tuduru Ede, were arrested on Friday night, at a hotel where they lodged in Port Harcourt.
The arrest came 48-hours after Cole led the party executive to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission to protest its refusal to release Certified True Copies of documents used during the election, which would aid the party to proceed to the tribunal. Confirming the arrest to newsmen in Port Harcourt, on Saturday, Cole described the development as a rude awakening, saying the operatives took materials belonging to the lawyers.
He explained that the arrests were made at Bayview Hotel along Tombia Road, GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt.
The lawyers owing to tight timelines to file petitions quartered in the hotel to meet filing periods of 21 days.
They only had FORMs EC8As and related FORMs issued by INEC and committed no offences for accepting and working their briefs.
He said their clients who are APC and APC candidates have right of access to the Tribunal which the Police in collaboration with PDP are aggressively trying to obstruct by arresting and humiliating lawyers.
The arrested lawyers include Aondo Jerry, Dr Nelson U. Sobere and Odum C. Eyiba.
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