Lagos – Professor Itse Sagay SAN, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) on Thursday said Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Wole Olanipekun (SAN) do not deserve the fined imposed on them by the Supreme Court for seeking a review of the Bayelsa governorship election judgment.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had on Wednesday fined lawyers representing David Lyon and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the application for review of the apex court’s judgement on Bayelsa election.

While Afe Babalola represented Lyon, Wole Olanipekun represented the APC.

The Supreme court justices ruled that each of the lawyers must pay N10 million to each of the three respondents – the Peoples Democratic Party, Governor Duoye Diri, and the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhruojakpo, bringing the total amount to be paid to N60 million.

However, speaking with Daily Independent, Sagay said while he supports the principle that lawyers filing frivolous appeals should be fined, Babalola and Olanipekun do not fall into that category as the appeal they filed was meritorious.

“On principle, I think any lawyer filing frivolous appeals should be fined but in this particular case, these are senior lawyers filing serious and deserving case. What they applied for was very meritorious”.

”They may not have applied on the same grounds as myself because they are talking about fair hearing; I am not interested in that. I am interested in the fact that the Supreme Court imposed itself on the people of Bayelsa state; they removed the electorates and became the voter. That is my main concern”.

There is a valid ground for seeking the review. What the Supreme Court did on Wednesday is what it should have kept for the lawyers of PDP who are coming for all sorts of ridiculous things such as review of the 2019 presidential election, Osun, Kano, Ekiti and others. Those are the people the Supreme Court should have imposed fine on for frivolous appeals but unfortunately, they applied that good principle on the wrong people”.

“The application filed by Afe Babalola and Wole Olanipekun were meritorious. The decision by the Supreme Court in Bayelsa was outrageous, atrocious and perverse. But the Supreme Court will not want to admit that so they imposed a fine on those two respected senior lawyers who were doing the right thing”.

“So, I believe lawyers bringing frivolous appeals should be fined but this particular one was applied to the wrong lawyers” he said.

Amitez:
” They may not have applied on the same grounds as myself because they are talking about fair hearing ; I am not interested in that. I am interested in the fact that the Supreme Court imposed itself on the people of Bayelsa state; they removed the electorates and became the voter. That is my main concern”.- Sagay

Okay, Oga Sagay, no one is stopping you. Please file your own case. I trust Justice Amina Augie to reply you appropriately.

hisexcellency34:
Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos



https://www.independent.ng/afe-babalola-olanipekun-dont-deserve-supreme-court-fine-sagay/

Lostz:
dementia is approaching this man gradually

RentedReality:
It seems Prof might be speaking from both sides

On one hand he says Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Wole Olanipekun (SAN) who are seeking a review of the Bayelsa governorship election judgment, should not be fined

On the other hand, he is saying that other lawyers filing frivolous reviews for the 2019 Presidential election, should be fined

My question to Prof is, how did you arrive at the meritocracy level of each appeal? How does a review of Bayelsa elections take precedence of a review of the presidential election?

hisexcellency34:
Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos



https://www.independent.ng/afe-babalola-olanipekun-dont-deserve-supreme-court-fine-sagay/

immhotep:

Pls when will supreme Court fine sagay for indiscriminate sai babarism?

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