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BIZAARE! They shared judgement openly before it was read, petitioner tells CJN, NJC
How did the aides of Mohammed Ali Ndume, Senator representing Borno South, lay their hands on a judgement and were sharing same gleefully within their camp, hours before it was delivered and what is the role of the Court of Appeal in upholding a judgement of a lower court after it had spotted several findings in its judgement?
These are part of the questions raised by Sesugh Akume, a human rights activist, in his petitioned urging Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), who is also the Chairman National Judicial Council (NJC), to probe six judicial officers over alleged “gross misconduct” and misuse of their offices.
The petition which was received and acknowledged by the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on November 29, 2023, was brought pursuant to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of Federal Republic of Nigeria 2016, Section 2 under “Application of the Code.”
Titled: “Petition/complaint on misconduct and/or misbehaviour against: M E Anenih J, A I Ityonyiman J, A O Adeniji, and Biobale Abraham Georgewill JCA, Folashade Ayodeji Ojo JCA, Peter Chudi Obiorah JCA,” the Petitioner (Akume) decried the perverse judgement in the matter of Kudla M Satumai & PDP v INEC, APC & Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume with Election Petition Number EPT/BOR/SEN/02/2013, delivered on 8 September 2023, and Appeal Number CA/G/EP/SEN/BR/04/2023, delivered on 2 November 2023, at the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja respectively.
Akume, while calling on the NJC to investigate the circumstances around the complaint and bring the offending judicial officers to book, said it was preposterous that aides and supporters of Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, a Respondent in the Tribunal, had details of the tribunal judgement and gleefully shared the outcome of the judgement on the morning of September 8, 2023, before the tribunal read the judgement in the afternoon.
Citing lots of perversion in both judgements of the Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, Akume reminded NJC Chairman of the Report on Pilot Survey published by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) where the judiciary tops in bribes demanded, offered and paid.
The petition partly read: “The complaint is made against M E Anenih J, A I Ityonyiman J, and A O Adeniji J, for their perverse judgement in the matter of Kudla M Satumai & PDP v INEC, APC & Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume with Election Petition Number EPT/BOR/SEN/02/2013, delivered on 8 September 2023, at the National and State House of Assembly Election, Borno, sitting in Maiduguri, and Biobale Abraham Georgewill JCA, Folashade Ayodeji Ojo JCA, Peter Chudi Obiorah JCA, for their perverse judgement in the matter of Kudla M Satumari & PDP v INEC, APC & Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume with Appeal Number CA/G/EP/SEN/BR/04/2023, delivered on 2 November 2023, at the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.
“In the said election petition tribunal judgement, the judges arrived at many conclusions that the Court of Appeal found to be perverse and repeatedly stated so on the record.
“The tribunal held that further evidence provided in response to a counter filed by the opposing side was inadmissible for being filed out of time as it ought to have been filed from the outset! It held that any testimony given by an individual perusing documents tendered was ‘mere’ hearsay as long as the individual was not physically present when the documents were produced!
“These are two of numerous ludicrous holdings by the tribunal to arrive at what appears to be a predetermined judgement, walking from the answer to the question, just in order to return the 3rd respondent as the duly-elected senator for Borno South.
“It is worth noting that aides and supporters of Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume had details of the tribunal judgement and gleefully shared the outcome of the judgement on the morning of 8 September before the tribunal read the judgement in the afternoon. …It then begs the question, How did the supporters get details of the outcome of a judgement that was yet to be delivered?
“The Court of Appeal in its perverse judgement dismissed most of the findings of the tribunal but in the end still upheld its judgement. The Court of Appeal, for instance, held that the appellants did not prove a case of forgery, mutilation, or defacing of results sheets having seen the forged, mutilated, defaced result sheets or how the hundreds of forged, mutilated, defaced results sheets affected the outcome of the election! …The court held to stringent and Impossible requirements to prove the same even though forgery has repeatedly been defined to include altering an original document. See Nigerian Air Force v James (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt 798) 295, and numerous such authorities.”
He noted that the Court of Appeal at page 42 of the judgement, per Georgewill JCA conceded that: “I find the evaluation by the lower Tribunal of the evidence of PW1-PW47, the witnesses called by the Appellants, the evidence of RW1, and the totality of the evidence led before it by the parties, was flawless and the findings and decisions on the merit of the claims of the Appellants against the Respondents are unassailable and must therefore, be allowed to stand.
“And yet, the same court upheld the judgement of the tribunal! It is judicial abracadabra as this which makes no meaning to the average reasonable person that continues to bring the judiciary to disrepute and erode whatever confidence the public might have had in the independence, integrity, impartiality, and respectability of the judiciary in Nigeria.
“The NJC would do well to investigate the circumstances around this complaint and bring the offending judicial officers to book in order to begin redeeming the standing and image of the judiciary.”
For Diezani Alison-Madueke, there is nothing more to prove to anyone as God has finally fought her battle and restored her dignity, with here exoneration from allegation of massive looting on Nigeria during her years as Minister of Petroleum Resources.
Emerging from the Southwark Crown Court in London, where she was eventually exculpated from blames after many months of trial, the former Minister, who had been living in the UK since 2015, as a fugitive, having escaped the claws of the government of Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former President, which had accused her of multiple cases of sleaze, she told reporters that everything would be kept in abeyance to enable her enjoy her freedom which had been denied for so long.
But before then, she attributed her acquittal on bribery charges which said had ended years of “unjust vilification,” to the handiwork of God while thanking those who stood by her during the trial period she described as “arduous” and “traumatic.”
The court had freed the once very powerful Minister, who ended up in the petroleum ministry after hitherto serving in different capacities of all six charges after hours of deliberation on Wednesday, after six months of trial, which began in January when the UK government charged her in August 2023 over an alleged £100,000 bribe.
Part of the prosecution in the UK court was that she accepted bribes in the form of luxury goods and use of high-level properties from industry figures in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts during her time in office.
But in her defence, the former Minister through her lawyers, told the jury that she had limited control over oil contract approvals during her time in office, as most decisions were made before reaching her desk.
After the court agreed with her, she told reporters: “I’m just thankful to God. It’s been a very, very arduous and long, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, for friends, for all those who have stayed and supported, for my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt, for my son, and for all those who love us, friends and family. We’re surrounded by friends here. So it has been a hard journey.
“But I tell you this, God will always do as God wills, and God will be God. God is not a man that he should lie. So, when he promises you something, he will see it through.
“It has been almost 11 years I’ve been here. I did my job to the best of my ability, but like I said, God is not a man that he should lie. God is God, and we thank him.”
Also, in a statement issued by Bolouere Opukiri, her representative, Alison-Madueke said “a decade of unrelenting and unjust vilification, condemnation, and scrutiny has finally concluded.
“I give thanks to Almighty God for His faithfulness and for the complete vindication I have received. I am grateful to my legal counsel for their diligence and to my family and friends for their steadfast support and encouragement throughout this period. I am profoundly relieved. My name has been cleared, and this ordeal has come to an end.”
Allison-Madueke said she would speak about the events of the past decade and her future plans “in due course” but, in the meantime, would focus on embracing what she described as the freedom she had been unjustly denied for many years.
Nigeria is sure to witness an impending doomsday sooner than later if the Federal government fails to take definite and decisive steps to arrest the current parlous state of the nation’s medical system.
Association of Medical Doctors (ARD), which dropped the warning, cited how Nigeria currently boasts of just 55,000 doctors to serve a population of more than 220 million people, warning that with the current paucity in its healthcare system, an impending doomsday was only a matter of time.
The doctors, who raised the alarm at the Ordinary General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the association, held at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba, Lagos, the doctors, among whom were mental health experts, also said the present situation was worsening access to psychiatric care and leaving millions of vulnerable Nigerians untreated.
Citing no fewer than 16,000 Nigerian doctors, who have emigrated in the last five years, had worsened an already dire manpower shortage in the country’s health sector, they warned that the sustained exodus of healthcare workers under the “Japa” syndrome had severely depleted the country’s mental health workforce, widened treatment gaps, increased the cost of care and placed enormous pressure on the few specialists remaining in the system.
Vanguard quoted Omoti Ernest, President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), as saying that recent data showed that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), had registered over 130,000 doctors but noted only about 55,000 are actively practicing within Nigeria.
Stressing that with a population exceeding 220 million, this translated to roughly one doctor for every 3,600 to 4,000 people, he added: “This ratio is far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended threshold of one doctor to about 600 people, highlighting the significant shortage of medical personnel and the strain on healthcare delivery.
“Many Nigerian-trained doctors have emigrated or are no longer engaged in active clinical practice, contributing to the country’s healthcare workforce shortage. The emigration of skilled professionals in search of better opportunities abroad has had a significant impact on Nigeria’s hospitals and healthcare workforce.
“Thousands of doctors and other healthcare professionals have left the country in recent years, leading to severe staff shortages, increased workload for those who remain with many suffering from burnout, longer waiting times for patients, and declining quality of care in many public hospitals.
“Rural and under-served communities have been particularly affected, as they already struggle with limited access to healthcare services. ’The reasons behind this migration include poor remuneration, inadequate working conditions, insecurity, limited opportunities for career advancement, and insufficient investment in healthcare infrastructure, among others.
“Many professionals are attracted by better pay, improved facilities, and more stable environments in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.”
‘What can be done’
To address the trend, he said the Federal Government should prioritise salaries and welfare packages for healthcare workers, invest more in modern medical equipment and hospital infrastructure, expand residency and specialist training opportunities, and create clear career progression pathways.
“Strengthening security, ensuring timely payment of wages, and providing incentives for professionals to work in under-served areas will also help retain talent. ’In addition, partnerships with the private sector and diaspora engagement programmes could encourage Nigerian healthcare professionals abroad to contribute their expertise and support development of the country’s healthcare system.”
Yesir Kareem, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, also lamented how Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio had fallen to about one doctor for more than 10,000 patients, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of one doctor to 600 people.
The consequences, he argued were particularly devastating for mental healthcare, he said, adding: Only about 55,000 doctors remain to serve a population of over 220 million Nigerians. More than 40 million Nigerians suffer from mental health disorders, yet about 85 per cent of them do not have access to mental healthcare services,” Kareem said.
He noted that Nigeria’s shortage of psychiatrists and other mental health specialists has reached alarming levels, warning that untreated mental illnesses contribute to family breakdowns, substance abuse, unemployment, delayed diagnosis and premature deaths.
“The economic consequences are equally devastating, with billions of dollars lost annually due to untreated mental health conditions. Over 94,000 doctors and nurses have left Nigeria since the Japa syndrome started some years ago due to poor remuneration and delayed salaries, competitive salaries in destination countries, overwhelming patient loads (1:10,000+), better work-life balance and conditions, and inadequate medical equipment & facilities.
He listed access to modern medical technology, limited career advancement opportunities, professional development and training, unsafe working conditions and long hours, unstable political and economic environment and insecurity and socioeconomic instability as factors encouraging migration of doctors from the country.
Vanguard, also quoted Veronica Nyamali, President of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) as saying that the manpower shortage was a crisis that had forced consultants to abandon higher-level responsibilities, such as research and specialist care, in order to fill gaps left by departing doctors.
She said: “There are gaps everywhere. Work that should be done by four psychiatrists is now being handled by one or two people. Consultants are increasingly forced to work at lower levels because the doctors they are supposed to supervise are no longer there.
“Those we train are leaving. Junior registrars, senior registrars, many complete their examinations and return abroad. The result is that we have shortages at every level of care. Nigeria has less than 150 psychiatrists. The dwindling number of specialists is making mental healthcare increasingly expensive and inaccessible, especially for patients in rural communities where psychiatrists are virtually non-existent.
“When specialists become scarce, services become more expensive. Access becomes difficult because patients must travel long distances to find care. This is contrary to the principle of universal health coverage, where mental health services should be available, affordable and accessible to everyone.
Lagos State Police Command, has thrown a security cordon around university communities in the state to prevent any form of mishap as a result of recent concerns that they could come under attack.
On Wednesday, Olohundare Jimoh, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, gave the hint while conducting an on-the-spot security assessment at Pan-Atlantic University, Lekki, following the circulation of a viral video showing two masked individuals emerging from a forest area adjoining the institution.
The visit, carried out alongside operational personnel of the command, was part of efforts to evaluate the security situation around the university and reassure students, staff and parents of measures being taken to ensure their safety.
The police boss, in a meeting with the university’s management while stressing the need to continually strengthen the institution’s security architecture to forestall potential threats, also advised on practical steps to enhance security within and around the campus, cautioning against actions that could inadvertently weaken existing security structures.
Emphasising the importance of adopting proactive security measures, particularly in the areas of perimeter protection, access control and collaboration with relevant security agencies, he said as part of efforts to boost security operations in the area, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), had deployed surveillance drones to support law enforcement activities around the university and neighbouring communities.
The measure facilitated by the Lagos State Government, is expected to enhance aerial surveillance, intelligence gathering and crime-prevention efforts within the axis, he said stating that the command was fully committed to protecting lives and property across the state.
He assured the management, staff, students and parents of Pan-Atlantic University of the police’s readiness to respond swiftly to security concerns and maintain a safe environment conducive to learning and other lawful activities, urging the institution to sustain close collaboration with security agencies and remain vigilant in addressing emerging security challenges.
“The Command remains committed to the protection of lives and property across Lagos State. The university community must support security efforts by promptly reporting suspicious activities. We are resolved to maintain peace, public safety and security across the state. We urge residents to remain security-conscious and provide credible, timely information to law enforcement agencies. Residents are also encouraged to make use of the Command’s emergency lines to report security-related incidents and suspicious movements.
The assessment followed heightened public concern generated by the viral video, with authorities moving swiftly to reassure the public and strengthen surveillance around the institution and its environs.
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