Let justice prevail in Enugu’s contested governorship election in the interest of the judiciary, the people and our democracy.
By Kevin Oji
The idea of Justice, what it is, what a just society looks like and the principles that should guide it has for ages been the thematic preoccupation of the traditional dominant strand of political philosophy led by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke. Jean-Jacque Rousseau and Immanuel Kant.
Reflecting on the Athenian democracy that was on the verge of ruins, Plato came to the inevitable conclusion that justice is a human virtue that makes a person self-consistent and good, a consciousness that makes a society internally harmonious and good. In her seminal book, “The Idea of Justice”, Prof. Amartya Sen challenges traditional notions of justice and makes a compelling argument for a broader understanding of justice that goes beyond mere distribution and fairness; emphasizing capabilities, freedoms and functioning of institutions.
Nigeria’s judiciary has come under increasing scrutiny under the present dispensation than at any time in its history as a result of recent controversial decisions by judges fueled by the growing feeling of judicial misconduct and corruption. The pressure is therefore on the Election Petition Tribunals to deliver justice in the avalanche of election petitions before them arising from the 2023 general elections.
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A compilation by Kimpact Development Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), reveals that a staggering 1,044 suits had been instituted at election tribunals across the country made up of 470 House of Representatives, 327 from state legislative races, 180 from senatorial contests, 62 from state governorship elections and 5 from the presidential election. There is huge expectation on the judges and the judiciary to rise up to its reputation as the last hope of the common man and the ultimate guardian of justice, the rule of law and democracy. And nowhere is this sentiment so strong than in Enugu state where what many people have described as brazen daylight robbery took place during the governorship election that Chijioke Edeoga, a lawyer and Labour Party (LP) candidate, was poised to win before desperate political predators conspired to subvert the will of the people. Before this mindless manipulation of the Governorship election result in favour of Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) by compromised officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, the LP had inflicted crushing defeat on the PDP in the state; it won seven out of the eight House of Representatives seats, fourteen out of the twenty four State Assembly seats and two out of the three senate seats. The travesty which foisted an illegitimate government on Enugu state is being vigorously challenged by the Labour Party and its candidate, Edeoga on three grounds to wit: that Peter Mbah was not at the time of the governorship election qualified to contest having been disqualified from contesting the election on the account of presenting a forged NYSC Discharge Certificate NO: A808297 to INEC, he was not elected by majority of lawful votes and issues bordering on non-compliance and how it substantially affected the outcome of the election.
The Director Corps Certification of NYSC, Abdul Ibrahim Muhammed reaffirmed to the Election Petition Tribunal that Mbah’s Discharge Certificate was fake. He said: “After conducting a thorough investigation, I came to the conclusion that the NYSC Discharge Certificate bearing NO:A808297 dated 6th January, 2003 with NYSC NO: LA/FRN/01/800351 allegedly issued to Mbah Peter Ndubuisi did not emanate from the NYSC.” In a strange twist, instead of cross examining or challenging Abdul Muhammed on the most important issue bordering on forgery of NYSC Discharge Certificate, counsel to Peter Mbah called one Yahaya Isah Mohammed who claimed to be of the Department of State Security (DSS) as a witness in the attempt to discredit the evidence of NYSC even though none of the respondents pleaded investigation by DSS and the issuance of an investigation report. Curiously, the report that he tendered was not written on the letter head of DSS and bore no stamp of the agency. Even the ID card that he tendered did not carry his rank. It was not surprising therefore when DSS later disavowed Yahaya Isah Mohammed as an imposter, thus unravelling this product of a deranged ideology without any moral equivalence as a shocking grave act of criminality. Even to the lay man, it was obvious that this infantile attempt to usurp the powers of police to investigate was dead on arrival. Equally damning are glaring issues of over voting, non-use of BVAS and fatally flawed computation of results to favour Peter Mbah. At the tribunal, the Labour Party and its Candidate, Edeoga, served Mbah notice to produce and show to the tribunal BVAS accreditation machines for several polling units. The petitioner also petitioned the Head, Legal of INEC and his office in Enugu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner to come and give evidence and to provide the Bimodal Voters Accreditation Machine in the aforesaid polling units. Instead of complying with the court’s order, the first respondents deployed delay tactics to practically run down the clock. It was only in the last day of the petitioner’s case that they brought the BVAS machines but deliberately omitted the BVAS device for Owo and Ugbawka registration areas where they had embarked on the inflation of votes in favour of Mbah and the PDP. Even the BVAS machines that they brought to the court were all deactivated to prevent the display of the exact accreditation of voters during the governorship election. Were the BVAS machines activated, it would have laid bare, brazen over voting and the substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act in Owo and Ugbawka polling units where the electoral heist was mindlessly perpetrated. In spite of this brazen brigandage, the voters in Enugu state know that they voted overwhelmingly for Labour Party and Barr. Chijioke Edeoga. They are anxious for justice to be done and their stolen mandate restored.
The judiciary cannot exist without the trust and confidence of the people. Judges must therefore be accountable to legal and ethical standards. After the bad behaviour of politicians and the failure of the electoral umpire to deliver a transparent election, the Enugu electorate and indeed Nigerians want the Election Tribunal in Enugu state to impartially deliver justice and shun technicalities. The travesty that took place in Enugu state should not be allowed to stand. Justice is on trial, our democracy is on trial, fairness is on trial, the role of the people as repositories of power is on trial. The only role and focus of the Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal therefore is to ensure that justice is served.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwola only recently, implored the judges to shun all forms of bias and do justice in all cases before them, stressing that it was the only way to restore confidence in the judiciary. We expect nothing more from the distinguished panel of judges than to write their names in gold by delivering untainted justice to the people. Let justice prevail in Enugu’s contested governorship election in the interest of the judiciary, the people and our democracy.
Kevin Oji, a Journalist and public affairs commentator, wrote from Enugu, Enugu State.