News
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.”
Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, seems to find merit in the damning verdict of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), accusing security agencies in Nigeria of complicity in the deluge of terrorist attacks in the country.
Jare Ajayi, National Secretary of the group, in agreeing with the position, posited on Wednesday: “This is because of the strong belief that the nature of terrorism bedeviling Nigeria would not be festering for this long without complicity from some powerful quarters.”
Though he acknowledged the determination of some patriotic operatives and government to stem the tide, he posited how difficult it was to believe that the activities of the terrorists would continue to thrive without active connivance.
Hear him: “With the vows by the President and top security officers, one has the feeling that the government is determined to end terrorism in Nigeria. When President Bola Tinubu appointed General Christopher Musa, (retd), as Minister of Defence, we had a lot of hope that within months, a total stop would be put to terrorism and banditry in the country.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be a spike, rather than reduction. The reason for this could be rooted in sabotage and complicity from within and from without. This tends to buttress the alarm raised by the US Commission.”
Stressing how the organisation been consistently calling the attention of authorities to areas that needed be looked into he maintained that these included politicians, who could be complicit in promoting the urgly situation.
Citing the recent comments by Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, who pointed in the same direction, Ajayi stated that no matter how unpalatable the position of the US body could be: “It is very important not to dismiss it but to use it a beacon with which to comb all areas.”
“Many people doubted us. Some dismissed us. Others predicted confusion, division, and even outright collapse. But you stood firm. You kept faith with the ADC. And today, because of your commitment, our party stands taller, stronger, and more united.”
With these words, David Mark, National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday’s night showered praises on members for conducting what he considered a flawless presidential primary election to choose its candidate for the 2027 election.
Mark, Senate President from 2007 to 2015, his audience at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, that by the outcome, the party had demonstrated that democracy and political competition could still thrive in Nigeria without crisis or division.
Regardless of the rejection of the result of the exercise by Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), who contested in the exercise, the former Chairman of the National Assembly, was still upbeat about its outcome.
Atiku Abubakar, Vice President between 1999 and 2007, had emerged winner of the process that took place across Nigeria from Monday till Wednesday, when the result was eventually announced.
The declared result showed that the former VP who would be running for the nation’s number one job for a record seven times came tops with Atiku 1,846,370, to Amaechi’s 504,117 and Hayat-Deen’s 177,120. Total votes cast in the election: 2,546,457 in the 3,113,599 tally.
Mark, who officially presented the ADC flag to Atiku as the party’s presidential standard-bearer, was emphatic that the exercise was not merely about producing a presidential candidate but about proving that internal democracy could still function effectively in the country.
Hear him: “Today is not just about announcing a presidential candidate. Today is also about proving a point to Nigeria and to Nigerians. It is about proving that democracy can still work.
“Proving that political competition does not have to become political warfare. That a party can organise itself around principles instead of personalities. This event has shown that in a season of deep national anxiety, a bright future is still possible.”
Stressing that had doubted the party’s ability to conduct a peaceful and credible primary, with some predicting division and collapse within the ADC, he praised members of the Presidential Screening Committee and Presidential Primary Election Committee for what he described as their professionalism and commitment to fairness despite pressure surrounding the exercise.
“In the face of enormous pressure, logistical complexity, and intense national attention, they carried out their responsibilities with courage, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to fairness and transparency. The conduct of the primary has strengthened confidence in the party and its democratic process.
“Their work has strengthened the credibility of this exercise and reinforced the confidence of our members and the Nigerian people in the integrity of the African Democratic Congress.
“It is important to mention that we are the only political party to have three strong aspirants contest for the presidential ticket. This alone makes the ADC unique in its deep commitment to democracy and democratic practices.
“By subjecting themselves to this process, they did not merely contest an election. They strengthened democracy. And despite efforts in some quarters to create uncertainty and tension, they remained committed to this process and to the ideals of this party,” he added.
For Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti, the first female Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), it was another day of glory, as Alex Otti, Governor of Abia laid out another red carpet for her in lieu of her starling performance in the 2023 governorship election in the state.
The university don, was the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who was nationally recognised for standing her ground against forces that reportedly tried to skew the process, leading to the emergence of Otti as governor.
Since then, she had received several recognitions including from the governor and other bodies, including her own students at FUTO, who gave her a heroic welcome upon the conclusion of her INEC task – the first and only one to be so accorded in Nigeria.
Wednesday’s recognition came through the naming of the newly inaugurated Umuahia Central Bus Terminal, a multimodal transport facility in the state capital after her, by the governor, who said it was in recognition of her role in that exercise.
Otti, who stressed that the decision was informed by her act of courage, integrity and commitment to truth, said: “This terminal has been named after Professor Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti, the courageous INEC returning officer who demonstrated unflinching integrity in the discharge of her duties during a high-stakes election assignment here in Abia.”
The governor, while stating that the honour was not limited to don alone but symbolised all individuals who resisted electoral manipulation added: “In 2023, through her courageous disposition of standing firmly by the truth… she reminded us that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results by simply saying no.
“So she’s just a representative of all of you—INEC staff who never bent, party officials who didn’t give in, security agencies… people who said no to intimidation.”
Stressing that the state had moved beyond basic infrastructure delivery to building an integrated transport system, he said: “The days of playing small is over. We shall no longer confine ourselves to the margins.”
He explained that the terminal was designed to accommodate over 340 buses and would improve accessibility, safety and efficiency in urban transport operations, adding that it would be supported by electric bus services, with 20 already in operation, while additional units are expected in phases.
“Services will keep improving as more buses are delivered… and you can tell with accuracy when a particular bus will arrive and depart,” he said.
He urged residents to protect the facility and support government efforts by maintaining order and paying taxes, warning against vandalism, waste disposal violations and other practices that could undermine the project, stressing that offenders would face sanctions.
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Makinde, Turaki, lose! *S’Court affirms Wike’s PDP leadership
-
News2 weeks agoTinubu to African leaders: Copy Nigeria, produce your way out of poverty
-
News1 week agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
Features4 weeks agoJim Nwobodo: The Sun shines, thrills, at ‘The Vanguard Awards’
-
Columns1 week agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News2 weeks agoWhy we pegged presidential ticket forms at N60million – NDC
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING! Coast brightens for Obi, as NDC zones presidency to South
-
News2 weeks agoGowon on civil war: My book is to put records straight, remove falsehood