My esteemed learned friend, Dr. Emmanuel Fashakin, who wears two hats, medical doctor and lawyer; asked if my position would be the same if the learned justices of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal had given their decisions against the current administration?
My simple answer is yes, it would be the same. However, I reiterate that when I said “going forward,” I was speaking to future elevation exercises after the ongoing.
My position has nothing to do with the current exercise, which was why I prefaced the suggestion with the phrase “going forward.”
However, if vacancies in the Supreme Court are filled as and when due, in which case, whoever serves in the PEPT serves with no vacancy in the Supreme Court, my first paragraph would be irrelevant. Vacancies should be filled as they arise.
Perhaps, I should reproduce what I said in my first paragraph, which would be rendered irrelevant if my second paragraph were the norm.
- That going forward, elevation of any member of a Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) to the Supreme Court should be placed on hold for a minimum of two years after conclusion of the assignment, for the following reasons:
a). If the Tribunal judgment happened to have been favourable to the government in power, the elevation of one or two of the honourable members thereof to the Supreme Court within one year of their said decision may be construed by an undiscerning public as reward for the job done, NO MATTER HOW HONEST AND PERSPICACIOUS THE DECISION WAS, OR HOW DESERVING THEIR ELEVATION IS.
b). Perception being reality, we ignore public perceptions however undiscerning they are, at our own peril. The justice sector in Nigeria cannot afford further dent, HOWEVER UNFAIR, on our collective image.
c). THIS SUGGESTION IS NOT INTENDED AS A PUNISHMENT on those who served in the Tribunal but to navigate our esteemed sector out of avoidable opprobrium.
Thank you.
