PDP HEADS TO NJC OVER APPEAL COURT VERDICT OUSTING 15 PLATEAU LAWMAKERS

Foremost lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, accused the appeal court of taking away the voting rights of the people of Plateau State, adding that the injustice inflicted on the people would last until the next four years.

However, while Ozekhome was of the view that the situation was irreversible, other senior lawyers said the Plateau State government is the only one who could approach the Supreme Court to set aside the grounds which the Court of Appeal relied on in delivering its judgement which the apex court has described as "perverse."

Justice Inyang Okoro, who headed the five-member panel of the Supreme Court that reversed the sack of Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, had in his consenting decision last Friday said, "The issue of nomination is exclusively the internal affairs of a political party. Therefore, it is not justiciable."

Apparently referring to the sacked lawmakers, Okoro said, “My only worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of the Court of Appeal's decision. It was absolutely wrong. The appeal is allowed.”

Equally consenting that the Court of Appeal overreached itself, Justice Helen Ogunwunmiju said, “It was very wrong for the Court of Appeal to go into the issue of party congresses. To make matters worse, the party challenging the issue is another political party.”

Ogunwunmiju added that the Court of Appeal made a fundamental error by shifting the burden of proof on Mutfwang.

Justice Adamu Jauro also agreed with the judgement.

Justice Emmanuel Agim said, “We have held in a plethora of cases that the sponsorship of a candidate for election is an internal affair of a political party. The Court of Appeal lacks the jurisdiction to determine the validity of the candidacy of the PDP.”

Based on the apex court’s decision reversing the sack of the Plateau State governor by the appeal court and the consenting opinions of the justices, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, told THISDAY yesterday that the party had resolved to petition the relevant institutions in the federal judiciary to review the Court of

Appeal’s decisions regarding the alleged injustice against the 16 lawmakers from Plateau State.

Abdullahi said, "Certainly, yes, we have already commenced efforts in that regard. This is because what the Supreme Court justices did was an indictment on the Justices of the Court of Appeal.

"We have always maintained that line of argument. We are going to seek redress on the members of parliament concerned. Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly. The redress will focus on their respective offices."

The affected PDP national and state assembly members included Senator Napoleon Bali, whose victory was nullified and handed freely to Senator Simon Lalong, the former Senate Minority Leader. Simon Mwadkon’s victory was annulled and the senatorial zone was ordered to go for another election.

Those affected in the lower chamber included Hon. Beni Lar, daughter of Solomon Lar, Musa Bagos, and Musa Agah, who were sacked by the Court of Appeal on the ground of invalid nomination.

Affirming PDP’s decision to go to the federal judiciary to seek a review, former governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah Jang, said, in a statement signed by his media consultant, Mr. Clinton Garuba, “As sad as it is, the damage that has been done to Plateau by the miscarriage of justice at the Court of Appeal is of great proportion because the kind of judgements that were delivered by the court have robbed the people of their rightful representation both at the state and the National Assembly. But all hope is not lost.

“The good people of Plateau State, through the government of Plateau State and the PDP, have already petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) to review all the judgements involving Plateau State that were delivered by the Court of Appeal, which effectively stopped those that have been elected into the national and the state of assemblies from representing their constituencies.

“We thank Plateau people for their vigilance; for trooping out in their hundreds and thousands in condemnation and resistance after the miscarriage of justice by the Court of Appeal. They all came out to lend their voice against the injustice. We salute your resilience.

“With the Supreme Court’s judgement, it has become an abnormality for them to remain as legislators when they could not win elections at the poll. This should not be allowed to stand. The authorities must give back to the people their true representatives and restore their mandate.”

Mutfwang also said, “We have just crossed the bridge and when we settle down to savour this victory, we will know what to do.”

The governor thanked their lordships at the Supreme Court for restoring confidence in the judiciary, and President Bola Tinubu for showing himself as a true democrat.

Acting National Chairman of PDP, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, had in November called for the review of the judgements of the Court of Appeal on the 16 members of the House of Assembly and the others from the House of Representatives and Senate.

The party sought the review of what it described as “biased” verdicts delivered by election panels set up to entertain appeals from petition tribunals.

Speaking on the recent judgement of Supreme Court, Ozekhome said there could not be a judicial review of an election petition that ended at the Court of Appeal, the court being the final court in such matters.

He said the injustice inflicted on Plateau State was an irreversible damage because the Court of Appeal was the last court for National Assembly and House of Assembly matters.

He stated, "In the case of Plateau State, the wrongs had been done. It is an irreversible damage because the Court of Appeal is the last court for National Assembly and House of Assembly matters.

“Now that we have a full complement of the Supreme Court, there may be need to look at the Electoral Act again, to say that all such matters should henceforth go to the Supreme Court.

"What it means is that the Court of Appeal successfully took away from the people their voting rights. The people voted for the people removed from office, but the Court of Appeal did not allow their votes to count.”

Ozekhome added, "While the people voted for people they wanted, the Court of Appeal said no, we are giving you different candidates. That is the concept I referred to as 'Judocracy' from my own 'Ozekpedia'.

"Judocracy is a process whereby presidents, governors, senators, House of Representatives members, House of Assembly members, chairmen of local government, counsellors are integrated, midwifed, and delivered in the hallowed court of law rather than through the ballot papers.

"That is crazy, that is far from 'demo' (democracy). It is not democracy, which is a famous concept conceptualised by Abraham Lincoln on the 19th of November 1863, when he described democracy as government of the people, for the people and by the people.

"For those senators, House of Representatives members, and members of House of Assembly that were brought back in Plateau, they represent government of Court of Appeal, for the Court of Appeal and by the Court of Appeal. It is certainly not the government of the constituents of those senatorial zones and Houses Representatives zones, and it's very sad.”

Commending the Supreme Court for speaking out against injustice, Ozekhome stated, "The Supreme Court spared no efforts in tongue-lashing Court of Appeal, and flogging them with judicial koboko on their bare buttocks for their great miscarriage of justice that they committed. These are the things that bring disgrace, shame on the judiciary. Thank God the Supreme Court rose to the occasion.

"In all of the governorship matters decided, the Supreme Court decided to give vent to edify and magnify the concept of the franchise of the people, they made sacred and sacrosanct the ballots box and the ballot paper.

"The Supreme Court in all its judgements showed that votes must not only be counted but must also be allowed to be counted. So, the Supreme Court's judgements on Friday were all pro-people, and I got up at the Supreme Court to praise them."