Judiciary
PROMINENT Civil Rights Advocacy Group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, said the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which validated the election of the governor of Plateau State Barrister Caleb Muftwang has shown that the Court of Appeal willfully staged a judicial coup ‘d tat against the voters in Plateau State by unconstitutionally planting APC legislators to replace PDP legislators at both the National Assembly for Plateau State and substantial number of validly elected PDP state legislators in Plateau State House if Assembly.
HURIWA which stated also that the well grounded judicial verdict reinstating the New Nigerian People’s Party’s elected governor of Kano State back to his position by invalidating the illegality committed by the court of Appeal and the Tribunal of first instance, saved Nigeria from witnessing some of the most callous and most brutal civil insurrection just as the Rights group said the head of the Court of Appeal Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem under whose leadership such a groundswell of unconstitutional acts were committed willfully by Justices of the court of Appeal she appointed, should accept responsibility for these colossal illegality in Plateau state particularly and quit the stage for a fresh President of the Court of Appeal to be inaugurated. HURIWA has called on Simon Lalong and all the Plateau APC members illegally railroaded into the National Assembly and Plateau State House of Assembly by the Appeal court in a crooked manner should resign immediately or be recalled by Plateau State electorate immediately so as to right the injustice since those victimised can’t go for redress at the nation’s apex court anymore.
HURIWA recalled that Governor. Muftwang’s victory at the March 18, 2023 poll was upheld by the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Jos but the appeal court overturned the lower court’s victory declaring Nentawe Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress the winner of the election.
The Rights Group in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko recalled that the Appeal Court ruled errorneously but intentionally that the failure of the PDP to comply with the order of the Plateau State High Court in Jos directing it to conduct valid ward, local governments, and state congresses before nominating its candidates for the various elective posts was a breach of the law.
The court, for the same reason, sacked many lawmakers elected on the PDP platform in the state.
HURIWA however recalled with satisfaction that reading the judgment of the apex court on Friday, Justice Emmanuel Agim held that the APC and its candidate are not members of the PDP and cannot challenge the primary election of the PDP.
He also held that the tribunal and court of appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the issue.
Agim noted that the petition of the APC in the first place was an abuse of the court process and faulted the appeal court for sacking the governor.
He said, “The petition by the APC and its candidates are abuse of the court process.
“I wonder why the matter came to court at all. This appeal is allowed.”
“My worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of this,” Justice John Okoro said while agreeing with the lead judgment.
HURIWA citing historical evidence by a professor Chidi Odinkalu stated rightly that In Plateau State, all appeals went to a panel presided over by Justice Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, who has been a Justice of Appeal since March 2014. She was joined by Justice Abdulaziz Waziri, who was appointed to the court in 2021, and Okon Abang whose term on the court began only in October 2023.
On 7 November, this Court of Appeal panel nullified the election of Senator Bali, claiming that “the PDP and its Senatorial candidate have no legal ground to participate in the election having failed to obey the judgment of a Plateau High Court that the party should conduct lawful elections for the purpose of having officers for Wards, Local Governments and State Council.” In his place, the court returned Simon Lalong as the winner of the election in which he had been roundly defeated.
HURIWA quoted Odinkalu as stating that Lalong was one beneficiary among many from a judicial hit-list methodically compiled by the Court of Appeal in Monica Dongban-Mensem’s home state. By the time its demolition job was over, the Court had sacked two PDP Senators from the state and five members of the House of Representatives elected on the PDP ticket.
In the 25-member state House of Assembly, the Court of Appeal removed 16 members elected on the platform of the PDP, handing their seats and control of the state parliament – with malice aforethought – to the APC.
“Such is the state of the judiciary in Nigeria at this time that the three-person panel whom Monica Dongban-Mensem sent to Plateau State could not have wrought that amount of destruction without her active consent, if not instruction.
Their victims included: Timothy Datong (Riyom); Rimyat Nanbol (Langtang); Moses Sule (Mikang); Salome Waklek (Pankshin); Bala Fwangje (Mangu South); Maren Ishaku (Bokkos); Dagogot (Quaanpan North); Nannim Langyi (Langtang North); Nimchak Rims (Langtang South); Danjuma Azi (Jos North-West); Gwottson Fom (Jos South); Abubakar Sani Idris (Mangu North); Happiness Akawu (Pengana); Ibrahim Abalak (Rukuba/Irigwe); Philip Jwe (Barkin Ladi); and Cornelius Deyok (Qua’apan South), Professor Odinkalu rightly averred
HURIWA has therefore averred that it may be petitioning the National Judicial Council to force the President of the Court of Appeal Monica Dongban-Mensem to resign honourably or be sacked or else the Rights group will not waste time in mobilising the civil rights movements in Nigeria to take steps to compel the national hierarchy of the judiciary to do the needful to reform the decadent Appeal court of Nigeria which has been exposed by the supreme Court for misreading the extant statutes governing elections in the Country which also questions the competence of that branch of the judicial for now until actions are adopted to cleanse that branch of the court system in Nigeria.
T.
-January 15, 2024 @ 19:55 GMT|
Tags: Caleb Muftwang
