In view of the Supreme Court judgment that lampooned the Court of Appeal’s decision which led to the removal of 16 members of Plateau State House of Assembly elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Gabriel Dewan, the House of Assembly Speaker’s statement that he will not recognise the APC legislators favoured by the Penultimate court, lawyers are calling on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to sanction the judges whose verdict have been described as: “rogue, procured and perverse.” But they also have different opinions on whether the court favoured legislators should now be recognised or not.
First, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Samuel Okutepa noted that: “As it is today, any member of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly whose election has been nullified on the grounds that the appeal the governor of Plateau State was allowed today stood no chance of immediate remedy as there is no further right of appeal. The decisions of the Court of Appeal in the parliamentary election petitions appeal to it, it being the final court has inflicted monumental injuries to the sovereignty of the people.”
Then Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, ex-Chair, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said: “Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal in Plateau was rogue, procured and perverse. It set aside the reasoning of the Court which denied the people their chosen representatives. But because the Court of Appeal is the final court in these matters, the decision of the Supreme Court is no remedy for the political ruin procured under the baleful influence of Monica Dongban-Mensem.”
Restating his position on the sack of the 16 PDP legislators which the Supreme Court described a miscarriage of justice in a WhatsApp chat, Odinkalu went further to say that he supports Speaker Gabriel Dewan’s position not to recognise the legislators whose electoral victory at the Court of Appeal.
“I support it. It is my clear-headed position. We are not in normal times. Lawyers want to prescribe outdated idiocies for corruption that they wreak. And then protect it with silly doctrine that makes no sense. You guys say ubi jus ibi remedium. The people of the Plateau & the affected 23 legislators have jus… If you can’t find any remedium, then get out of the way & stop saying you will not support it. Tell us what remedy you have. There is no peace without justice!”
Likewise, Ogbu, Blessing Ekpere, Esq. said: “I support the Speaker’s position. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The judicial review may be knocked out on the ground of sui generis.”
But Marvin Omorogbe, Esq held a different position. “I don’t think we should support this… Though the Court of Appeal’s judgment is manifestly perverse, it is unfortunately the final court for those cases. The only remedy is to petition NJC or even go back to the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court for a review.
“We should not in good conscience support self help even in the face of a crooked judgment… I will not support self help and I don’t think anyone should support self help… I agree that those Judges from the Tribunal to the Court of Appeal should be booted out of the bench. All of them. But there must be certainty of legal consequences, whether judgment was rightly or wrong delivered… Refusing to recognise the lawmakers wrongly affirmed by the C o A is not a remedy in this case. It is self help and the consequences may even be worse than the perverse Court of Appeal judgment.”
In response, Odinkalu said: “And you think the injustice that Okon Abang & Co have done in Plateau will guarantee peace, ko? The guy said the obvious. He does not need my support: they are illegitimate. That is absolutely as accurate. Which part of that needs translation? They lost the election; they were installed by a corrupt judicial decision instructed by Dongban-Mensem. But that is no remedy. NJC cannot reinstate their mandates. In 2004, Ugochukwu Uba bought 2 JCAs in Enugu to steal Nicholas Ukachukwu’s seat in Anambra South. He served out his tenure as Senator notwithstanding that the 2 JCAs were fired in 2005.”
“Leaning into the conversation, Obioma Ezenwobodo, Esq., Managing Partner, Resolution Attorneys, Abuja said: “The judgement of the apex court regarding Plateau State elections is a welcome development as it has restored hope to the judiciary once more.
“The issue of who is a candidate of a political party is an internal party matter that the court is deprived on jurisdiction to mediate. Moreover, the issue of qualification of a candidate is a preelection issue that should be litigated before a state high court or the federal high court but not at the election tribunals. This mess are elementary principles of our election jurisprudence and anything outside it is perverse and cannot be deemed to be a mistake. It is a bigger embarrassment to our judiciary and justice system.
“In law, the Latin maxim Ubi jus, ibi remedium – meaning ‘where there is a right, there is a remedy’ still holds sway but unfortunately, we’re dealing with electoral jurisprudence which is sui generis and by its nature, all the matters of PDP elected legislators in Plateau State ended at the Court of Appeal. In other words, the Court of Appeal is the final court of litigation on their matters. The implication is that an incalculable injustice has been done to them through instrumentality of the law. They have a right but the law did not provide any remedy to them.
“Based on this judicial faux pas, it will not be out of place to impose sanctions via the instrumentality of the NJC of the justices involved. The system must be sanitized for us to have a decent democracy and progress thereon.”
