Judiciary: Democracy At Crossroads- CSO

By Alphonsus Syvester

A civil society organisation,under the aegis of Centre for Public Orientation and Good Governance (CPOGG) has said the judgements being reeled out by the court of the land recently may endanger the practice of democracy in the country.

The National Coordinator of CPOGG , Chief Okpara Micheal, in the company of his secretary general, Ahmed Abubakar disclosed this on Monday at a press conference in Abuja.

He said the concept of democracy is hinged on the government of the people,for the people and by the people, noting that it was fortified with legal structure to enforce its function effectively as conceived .

Micheal said , however, the recent happenings in the judiciary system in the country , a critical organ for the flourishing of democracy had left much to be desired,.

Explaining, he said the controversy that shrouded the judgment of Appeal court ruling in Kano and planteau states which is still fresh ,with kicks appears rearing its ugly heads in the recent dispensation of justice, as it concerns cases pending at the election petition tribunal.

Against this backdrop, the CSO therefore appealed to the courts in the land to treat cases bothering 11th November governorship election petitions in Baylsa, Imo and Kogi states with due diligence of application of the law.

He averred that such posture from the judiciary will allow the enthronement of the kind of leadership the people of these enclaves clamour for via democracy; as such, the court should be seen to observe its duty, devoid of ethnic bigotry, religious extremism, regional chauvinism and its likes.

“The recent judgement from our highly respected courts in the land has put our representative democracy at a crossroad.

“In most cases recently, several ruling on election petition is shrouded with technicalities, rather than consideration of the substances of the issues involved, creating a notion that the law is an ass”, he said .

The CSO stated that as the process to unravel the alleged electoral malpractices in the November 11th governorship election heats up in these three states, it urged judges involved to uphold fairness within the ambit of the law in their judgement for the citizens of these states to have leadership of their choice as defined by practice of representative democracy.

The CSO stated further that the Court of Appeal judgement by justice Joseph Olubumi Kayode Oyewole on Friday 1st march over exparte order made by the kogi state election petition tribunal on 25th November 2023 appears smacked with controversy, reminiscent of the legal incident in Kano and plateau states that was almost bungled, if not the supreme court’s intervention .

The CSO lay bare thus: “That Chief J B Daudu SAN, on the 9th, January 2024 filed a motion on behalf of his client , Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the said election and defender/ respondent of the petition of electoral malpractices pending before the trial tribunal to set aside on the then on going inspections of election materials, including its out come on the grounds that his client was not personally served.

“The trial Tribunal dismissed the motion on 17th January, 2024 on the ground that the motion was not filed within the stipulated time of 7- day as required by the Rules of Tribunal and that Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo was duly served as required by the law, but decided to stay away from the exercise on his own volition.

“Not satisfied with the ruling , Chief J B Daudu SAN, the leading counsel to Ododo went to Appeal court for more interpretation of the exparte order, where the court said, “the inspection purportedly done pursuant to the said order of the trial tribunal without the presence of the Appellant violates paragraph ‘h’ of the said orders and is hereby set aside.

” Consequently, the third respondent( tribunal ) shall take immediate steps to invite the 1st and 2nd respondents ,as well as the the appellant and the 4th respondent and other relevant party for a fresh inspection exercise in accordance with the extant provisions of the said order of the trial tribunal”.

While the CSO applauded the lard mark judgement at the Appeal court over the exparte order at the trial tribunal, it noted that it lacks fairness and coated with technicalities.

“The section that anchored this judgement is not weighty enough to vacate raised issue of filling the motion out of time, that is a primary prerequisite, as stipulated by the trial tribunal.

“That since the notice of inspection of electoral materials was duly served on all the concerned ,including the Appellant as claimed by the trial tribunal, but the appellant decided to give excuse to stay off from participation ; the exparte order should have been upheld, not drawing the hands of clock back as portend by the ruling .

“From foregoing, it showed that the appellant excluded himself from the exercise,not the trial tribunal or the parties involved. They should therefore not be punished for it.

“The proceeding at the election tribunal is time framed , and all the party involved are meant to adhere to it strictly in accordance with procedural laws. The law have no provision that until you put your act together before you comply with it . So, if you fraught it , you get stick ,not carrot.

However, the group called upon the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Attorney General of the Federation, chief judge of the Federation and other stakeholders in Nigeria project to protect this hard earned democracy by ensuring that the courts of the land give proper interpretation to issues before them, to guarantee an enduring democracy and peaceful coexistence.