BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
The judicial arm of government has been at the receiving end since political parties and their candidates turned to court as a saving grace after losing the 2023 general elections at the polls.
Since the dawn of the ‘go to court’ slogan after the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections took over the political atmosphere, the courts, specifically, elections petitions’, courts popularly referred to as Tribunals, became flooded with petitions from all levels of the contest and from almost all the political parties and their candidates.
Different judgments were given by different judges depending on the level of the petition and these judgments have truly attracted reactions from the highs and lows, political class, civil society, non-governmental organisations, faith based and all tribal organisations.
In all these, the judiciary has received severe bashing with allegations that the judgments were delivered in favour of the highest bidder as though the Nigerian judiciary was in an auction market place.
But what has left many confused is that when judgment is given in favour of a political party and its candidates, that party and all concerned will sing the praises of the courts to high heavens tagging the court as the last hope of the common man.
That same political party would turn 180 degrees to abuse and accuse judges and the courts moments the judgments go on the contrary. They will aptly allege corruption and call judges offensive names.
More worrisome is the fact that Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who are the senior lawyers, are guilty of these allegations. Some of them had gone on air to criticize judgments and even castigate the revered Judges.
Recently, political parties under the aegis of the Conference of Allied Political Parties criticized the Appeal Court judgement in the Plateau State National Assembly as a rape of democracy.
A statement signed by its director of publicity, Amos Sani, described what happened in Plateau State as insensitive and a gross abuse of the judicial process.
“The decision to declare the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, winner of the Plateau South Senatorial election is a travesty of justice. For the Appeal Court to declare Simon Lalong winner because the PDP didn’t have a structure is insane and rape of democracy.
“On what basis would the APC canvas that the PDP as a party didn’t have a structure? What is the business of the APC with the structure of another party? It indicates that the justices of the Appeal Court delivered a kangaroo judgment.”
He further stated that the actions of the Appeal Court tend to set a dangerous precedence in the country.
“The judiciary is now for sale to the highest bidder. It has succeeded in turning the law on its head. This is a worrisome enterprise that should be discontinued for its potency to not truncate our nascent democracy.
“This is a clear case of rape of our democracy, and any well-meaning Nigerian must reject it in its ramification. There is no sense in the judgment. It reads like a prepared speech which smacks of pecuniary gains.”
The group further alleged that the justices of the Appeal Court that entertained the matter acted like they had been induced financially to give a damning verdict.
“The Appeal Court judgment smacks of a rehashed endeavour unknown to law. It is worrisome that the justices of the Appeal Court would elect to throw caution in the wind.”
The Appeal Court in Abuja recently upheld the tribunal’s judgment, which declared the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, winner of the Plateau South Senatorial election.
The Election Petition Tribunal nullified Napoleon Bali’s election on the grounds that the People’s Democratic Party did not have a proper party structure and, therefore, could not file candidates for the elections.
In a unanimous judgment read by Justice Muhammad Tukur, the tribunal said the PDP, having no structure, lacked the right to take part in the election.
The three-person panel of the Appeal Court, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, held that the matter was both a pre and post-election matter, adding that the tribunal was correct to have looked at the issue.
In a related development, the Plateau South People Assembly, an umbrella body of six LGAs that makes up the Plateau South Senatorial district, also condemned the ongoing waves of judicial pronouncements upturning the elections of elected representatives of the people of Plateau State at the state and National Assembly.
“We are shocked by the pattern of the judgments, nullifying elections of some of our representatives, under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party over what is termed as improper nomination and sponsorship of candidates by the PDP.
“We must further state that these developments are a great threat to democracy in Nigeria today.”
“Nigeria has truly happened to the Justices and Judges. They saw the election petitions as an avenue to get their retirement benefits. Some of them were brazenly praising some petitioners while abusing the respondents in a case they were supposed to be seen to be neutral”
Echoes from Imo State show that the people of Ideato South constituency have been full of praises to the Appeal Court that delivered judgment in the case of Ikenga Ugochinyere, member representing them in the 10th National Assembly on the platform of the PDP.
Ugochinyere’s election was nullified by the Tribunal based on pre-election matters after he had won and was sworn in but the Appeal Court discountenanced the decision of the Tribunal by returning him as the valid winner of the election and representative of the good people of Ideato South.
Prior to the Appeal’s Court judgment, the people had condemned the Judges at the Tribunal, labeling them stooges to the governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, whom they claimed wanted to stop Ugochinyere’s representation at all cost.
But the same people have declared that the same judiciary is the last hope of the common man.
In Abia State where the current Minister of State, Labour, and former Chief Whip of the 9th assembly, Nkeiruka Onyejiocha, lost her bid to return to the House of Representatives to a Labour Party candidate, Amobi Ogah, in Isuikwuato/Umunneochi constituency, jubilation took over the towns and villages following an Appeal Court affirmation of the LP candidate’s election.
The party with the speed of light commended the Appeal Court and the Justices that presided over the petition.
The party in a statement signed up its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said, “Ogah who won his election under the platform of Labour Party (LP) in the National Assembly elections earlier in the year was removed by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital two months ago.
“It however, declared the former Deputy Chief Whip of the House and incumbent Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the National Assembly seat.
“But in his reaction, the lawmaker vowed to appeal the judgement of the tribunal, expressing confidence that the appellate court would uphold the subsisting verdict and now his prayers have been granted by the Appeal Court which has affirmed that Ogah won the NASS election fair and square.
“The Appeal Court has reinstated Ogah as the House of Representatives Member for the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State.
“The court said that the tribunal erred in its judgement by invalidating the result of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC which declared Ogah winner of the election.”
The same Labour Party condemned in strong terms the Enugu State governorship and house of assembly elections petition tribunal for affirming Governor Peter Mbah as the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial polls.
Across the 36 states of the federation, the notion is that the judiciary has been dragged into the muds by political parties and their candidates.
But a lawyer and social critic, Silva Emeka, has a different opinion.
He said, “Nobody should create the impression that the politicians and their political parties dragged the judiciary into the muds. What is playing out across the country is a shame. Some of our Justices and Judges have for whatever reasons destroyed the sanctity of the courts. No matter what, they have a choice to defend the court’s integrity and sanctity by making the law their stronghold in giving judgments but is that the case? The answer is no.
“It has never happened before in the history of our judiciary, the Justices and Judges sitting in two cases of the same matter in the same Court given different judgments. The judgments negate the symbol of our judiciary that signifies that the goddess of justice is blindfolded to represent unbiased justice. The balance signifies that she weighs pieces of evidence and facts of the case to arrive at the judgment. But can we say this was happening at the Tribunals today? Your guess is as good as mine.
“Look at the number of Justices in our Supreme Court today. Are there no qualified Judges to fill the vacant seats? Has anybody bothered to give Nigerians the reasons for this shortfall? All these are clear indications that our judiciary has lost it. Just a few weeks ago a retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Musa Dattijo Mohammad in his valedictory remarks opened a can of worms of what our courts including the highly revered Supreme Court have become. Remember he recused himself from the PDP and LP appeal against the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court that upheld President Bola Tinubu’s mandate.
“This is why I said politicians are not to be blamed for the bastardisation of our courts, rather our Justices and Judges and even lawyers.
They are bound to have a conscience that is alive not dead because when your conscience is alive you maintain your integrity and cannot be influenced by anything. So nobody should blame the lay man on the street or politicians for the word of our courts,” he said.
In his assessment, human rights lawyer and defender, Maxwell Opara told The Point that he is utterly ashamed of the judiciary.
Opara said there was nothing to assess the court in the delivery of judgments in this year’s elections.
“My brother, I am utterly ashamed of Nigeria’s judiciary. In fact it’s an understatement to say I am utterly ashamed. Where do I begin from to assess the performance of the courts in handling the election petitions? When the Presidential Election Petitions Court rejected witnesses with flimsy excuses I knew the Justices and Judges were out to bury the court and the country’s law. Witnesses are court’s witnesses not for the petitioner or respondent. It’s the court that put them on oath but Nigerian Justices discarded witnesses claiming that their statements were not contained in the petitioners’ claims. That’s horrible.
“It’s incumbent on the court to examine the witnesses in order to extract useful information for their judgment but you saw what happened at the PEPC. Are you talking of the Justices aligning with INEC to defraud Nigerians?
“All the deceit by INEC before and during the elections that the electorate’s vote must count, that the results would be uploaded in good time were given legal backing by the Justices who are supposed to dispense justice and uphold the rule of law.
“Are you blaming Nigerians for accusing them of corruption? Don’t you know that two cases of the same grounds received different judgments in the Tribunals across the country? Look at the cases in Plateau. The court delved into party’s constitutional internal matters of nomination, upturned results based on pre-election matters but in some states, the law said elections cannot be upturned because of pre-election matters.
Who is fooling who? Judiciary is no longer the hope of the common man and it’s very terrible.”
A top civil servant who pleaded anonymity claimed that the society has affected the judiciary which is why the tot is conspicuous. He said the Justices, like every Nigerian did throw integrity to the winds which was the reason people believed they were compromised.
“Nigeria has truly happened to the Justices and Judges. They saw the election petitions as an avenue to get their retirement benefits. Some of them were brazenly praising some petitioners while abusing the respondents in a case they were supposed to be seen to be neutral. One of the Justices at the Supreme Court asked some petitioners what would be their benefit if they got the election nullified. I am confused, to say the least.”
In some quarters, those defending the court blamed what happened at the tribunal on shortage of manpower as the Supreme Court is seriously in shortage of hands. The apex court currently has seven Justices as against the Constitutional provisions for 21 at every given period.
A former NBA President, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, discharged such alibi with a wave of the hands.
He emphatically stated that the apex court has no reason to have only seven Justices when there are eminently qualified Judges and senior lawyers that can be brought in to occupy those vacancies but the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council whose responsibility it is to recruit for that post remained adamant signifying they are less concerned.
