There should be limit to judicial rascality. It now means that the court can pick anybody on the street and impose him on the party as flag bearer, simply because he harbors an ambition and has money to bribe his way through.
By Emma Jack
With the likes of Justice Binta Nyako still holding sway in the judiciary, Nigerians must learn to sleep with one eye open. This lady just decided that a man who did not participate in a gubernatorial primary election conducted by his party, is the party’s governorship candidate. Simply put, any Nigerian can shun his party’s National Executive Committee, proceed to court with manufactured figures and the right amount of US dollars. Such a person has a good chance to be declared a candidate. This is dangerous, very dangerous. Many may not believe it. But someday, one day, Nigerians would wake up to hear that a judge of a High Court has dissolved Nigeria.
Retrogressively, Nigerian High Court Judges are becoming more brazen, more reckless and are carrying on with devil-may-care attitudes. In open Court, many of such Judges tell those who care to listen that “the law is what we say it is”. Certainly, not what the law or evidence says it is.
It is Chief Emenike today. Yesterday it was Celestine Omehia. Tomorrow it could be you, the reader. It is heartwarming that several leading columnists have written to condemn this judicial perfidy. Yet many Nigerians are going about as if nothing has happened. Many don’t seem to be bothered with what is going on in our judiciary.
Recall the confession of the German Lutheran Priest, Martin Niemoller who lamented “that when they came first for the communists, and he didn’t speak up because he wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and he didn’t speak up because he wasn’t a Jew. (In the process six million Jews perished). Then they came for the trade unionists, and he didn’t speak up because he wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and he still didn’t speak up because he was a protestant. Then they came for him and by that time, no one was left to speak up for him”. Until injustice is stopped, it would keep circulating. We all need to speak up because these evils will eventually catch up with everyone.
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Justice Binta Nyako’s Judgment in Uche Ogah Vs Chief Ikechi Emenike & 3 others on Friday, November 11, 2022, falls squarely into this dangerous category. She ruled that a man who forged documents, who did not participate in a primary election conducted by the APC is the governorship candidate of the party.
This story is simple: As primary election season approached, APC like other parties notified INEC that it would conduct its gubernatorial primaries for Abia State in Chidiebere Park in Umuahia, the state capital, on the 26th of May, 2022. No other notice was given to INEC from APC. The party further constituted its primary elections team with Chief Tony Obiefuna as Chairman, Mazi Chukwudi Kanu as Secretary and other members of the panel are: Hon. Adeleke Oladunni, Hon. Godwill Otti and Barr. Paul Abhulime.
Apart from the letter appointing them, the party also mandated the panel, in writing, to proceed to Umuahia and conduct an indirect mode of gubernatorial primary elections. The electoral committee did exactly that.
There was no other order from the party to do otherwise. While the indirect governorship primary was almost concluded on the 26th of May, the National Secretary of the party, Senator Omisore erroneously included Abia among the two other states that should do direct primaries. Realizing their mistake, the party through same National Secretary, Sen. Omisore, and National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, wrote back to INEC to correct and to reconfirm indirect mode of primary in Abia State. That was why it has no hesitation in accepting the result of the indirect governorship primary that produced High Chief Ikechi Emenike as Governorship Candidate of the party.
It is noteworthy that Uche Ogah neither participated in the indirect primary conducted by the APC nor any other primary for that matter. He just sat in a room and cooked up figures and procured the services of the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Ilo to report that “his primary” was monitored by the INEC. Can INEC monitor a primary election not conducted by the party?
Unfortunately for Uche Ogah and Ilo the INEC report also stated that INEC officials monitored another primary election at Chidiebere Park where High Chief Ikechi Emenike emerged the Governorship Candidate of the party. Is it lawful for INEC to monitor two primaries of a party for the same position?
The entire members of the Governorship primary Election Committee for Abia deposed to Affidavits which is before Justice Nyako saying that they conducted only one governorship primary in Abia State which produced only High Chief Emenike as candidate of the Party. These were on oath.
Yet, against the stipulations of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act and an avalanche of Supreme Court decisions, Justice Nyako decided that a man who did not participate in the Primary conducted by his own party is her Governorship candidate. There should be limit to judicial rascality. It now means that the court can pick anybody on the street and impose him on the party as flag bearer, simply because he harbors an ambition and has money to bribe his way through. The NJC or Nigerian authorities more than ever before need to draw a line for judicial officers.
Indeed, it was for the sake of this predetermined outcome that Uche Ogah’s suit against High Chief Emenike was singled out of six other cases in which Ogah was a party to and spirited to Abuja. Inside sources at the Federal High Court said that when that application for transfer to Abuja first came and the Dollars to be paid was settled, it was a very high ranking judicial officer himself that reworked the letter which claimed that there were security challenges in Umuahia. It is also instructive to note that the same day the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice Tsoho directed that all cases in the Federal High Court Abuja should be transferred back to their states, was also the same day he ordered that this single case be transferred from Umuahia to Abuja. All the pleas, all the petitions and all the motions meant nothing to Tsoho and Nyako. And Nigeria is poorer for it.
All the parties who are involved in this dance of absurd, from Tsoho to Nyako, to Uche Ogah and his lawyers need to be called to order. Nigeria is doomed if this kind of impunity and recklessness is not stopped.
- Mr. Jack is an APC member and Abuja based computer engineer.
