Justice Christopher Oba of the Federal High Court in Apo, Abuja, today, Monday 24th June, 2024, struck out the case brought by former Bayelsa Central Senator, Moses Cleopas, against the incumbent Senator representing the Senatorial District, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Benson, for abuse of court processes.
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It should be recalled that Senator Moses Cleopas, after losing his return ticket at the PDP Senatorial primaries to then Secretary to State Government, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Benson, approached the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, alleging that Konbowei Benson possessed a forged NYSC exemption certificate, making him ineligible to contest in the 2023 general elections. Senator Cleopas requested the court to disqualify Konbowei from the contest to allow him to run on the party’s ticket that he lost in an open contest. However, Senator Moses Cleopas consistently lost the case at the Yenagoa Federal High Court, Lagos State Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court, as he failed to prove the allegations that Senator Konbowei Benson actually forged the said NYSC exemption certificate.
However, on the 12th of February this year, Barr. Rubben Egwaba, who senator Cleopas hired to prosecute the case and failed, filed the same matter from the Attorney General’s office and instituted it at the Federal High Court in Apo, Abuja. The case came up on March 26th, where Senator Konbowei was granted bail by Justice Oba, and the matter was adjourned for further hearing today, 24th June, 2024.
During today’s sitting, the Attorney General of the Federation informed the court that they received petitions from counsel to Senator Konbowei Benson, Barr. Gordy Uche (SAN), providing proof that this matter had been decided in seven different courts, including the Supreme Court, which exonerated Senator Konbowei Benson of all the allegations of forgery leveled against him by Senator Moses Cleopas. The Attorney General withdrew the fiat from the prosecuting counsel, Barr. Rubben Egwaba, and asked him to also withdraw the case.
Based on the evidence presented in court, the presiding judge, Justice Christopher Oba, subsequently struck out the case for gross abuse of court processes.
When asked by journalists if he would file a defamation lawsuit against Senator Moses Cleopas over this lengthy legal battle, Senator Konbowei Benson stated that he needed time to consult his legal team to determine the next course of action.
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