When Judges Imperil Democracy
Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu argues that the ruling by the Federal High Court that a certificate of return be issued to Obiora Okonkwo is in order
Olusegun Adeniyi’s Verdict, published January 4, 2018 in THISDAY and captioned ‘When Judges Imperil Democracy’, creates the impression that Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja over-reached himself when he entered judgment in a suit brought before him by Dr. Obiora Okonkwo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to Okonkwo to enable him be sworn-in as senator representing Anambra central at the Senate. The article tends to suggest that the judgment was clandestine. It also creates the innuendo that politicians from Anambra State are shadowy in their use of the judiciary. Those suggestions are misplaced as neither Justice Tsoho nor the judgment beneficiary, Dr. Okonkwo, engaged in any shadowy dealings in the pursuit of the case and the judgment. Let’s look at the case progression first.
Dr. Okonkwo contested in the primary election of the PDP conducted to elect a candidate for the 2015 National Assembly election. The primary was held in December 2014. Others who contested the primary election were Senator Annie Okonkwo, Sylvester Okonkwo, Uche Ekwunife and Kodilichukwu Okonkwo. Some 294 delegates were accredited for the election with Okechukwu Akachukwu as returning officer. Chairman of the PDP Primary Election committee was Mr. Alaye Tremie Jnr. Other members were Prof. Carl Okezie, Chief Obinna Nwachukwu, Sen. Bala Adamu and Rodney Ambaiowei.
However, aggrieved that despite polling 204 valid delegate votes to come tops Uche Ekwunife was announced winner instead, Dr. Okonkwo, a 1998 Doctor of Philosophy (distinction) degree holder in political science from Moscow, approached the courts with an originating summon on December 22, 2014. His suit bordered on a pre-election issue and has nothing to do with post-election contests.
He sued PDP, its national chairman (Adamu Muazu as he then was), INEC and Uche Ekwunife. The suit was marked FCH/ABJ/ CS/1092/2014. His basic reliefs were to the effect that it was he, and not Ekwunife who won the primary election and ought to be returned as winner. He also filed an affidavit of urgency seeking expeditious determination of the matter. If that was done before March 2015, and a judgment was given upholding his prayers and evidenced, Ekwunife would not have been on the ballot for PDP.
Dr. Okonkwo’s case is a pre-election matter which is considered foundational, and more important, than post-election cases. Reasons the matter delayed in court and reached judgment only in December 2017, is best known to the judiciary. In the course of adjudication on the matter, three judges of the Federal High Court washed their hands off and returned the case file to the Chief Judge of the FHC for reassignment. The judges include Justice A.R Mohammed, Justice Okon Abang and Justice Quadri. Several preliminary objections in the suit were also entertained and defeated. So, Justice Tsoho was the fourth judge to entertain the matter in the Federal High Court. All the judges are still in the employ of the FHC and can be reached. Processes in the matter are now public documents and can be assessed by a conscious seeker of truth.
The matter also reached the Supreme Court twice and Appeal Court three times. Several of the aspirants also filed applications to be joined in the matter. Their applications were defeated. Several Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including J.N. Owonikoko, Alex Izinyon, Wole Olanipekun, Patrick Ikwueto, etc., have been involved in this matter at different stages for the different parties. That the matter is not known to the media, or to other political parties in the Anambra Central conundrum, does not make it shadowy neither does it make the Anambra politician such a desperate fellow that would seek to use judges to imperil democracy. Unless it is being suggested that anyone who is aggrieved, like Dr. Okonkwo was, must not to seek redress in court.
An interesting aspect of the matter is that INEC was always in court. INEC remained impartial in the trial process and also told the court that the matter bordered on an internal affair of PDP to which it had no say but to submit itself to the judgment of court. There was however a turn of events in December when the matter came up before Justice Tsoho at the Federal High Court, to whom it was assigned after a tour of the Court of Appeal.
On December 13, 2017, all the defendants appeared before Justice Tsoho. When the matter was called up, Counsel to Ekwunife informed the court that she was no longer interested in defending the suit and that she had, by way of an affidavit filed in court, decided to withdraw her defence of the matter and would submit to judgment. INEC, through its counsel, also informed the court that it will submit to judgment as, in fact, it had nothing to do with the matter but, as an impartial umpire, would obey whatever orders the court made. PDP also entered the same submissions and asked the court to enter judgment based on reliefs sought by Okonkwo; and also grant the consequential orders. In other words, all the defendants submitted to consent judgment.
Relief and consequential orders which Okonkwo asked from the court were: That Dr. Okonkwo is the validly nominated candidate of the PDP at the December 7, 2014 PDP primary election to nominate its candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District at Ekwueme Square Awka, Anambra State, whose political party contested and won the National Assembly election that was held on March 28, 2015. That INEC, the third defendant/respondent cancels the certificate of return (if any is subsisting) issued to the fourth defendant/respondent (Chief Mrs. Uche Ekwunife). That INEC issues a certificate of return to Dr. Obiora Okonkwo forthwith as the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district of Anambra State. That the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria swears in the plaintiff (Dr. Obiora Okonkwo) forthwith as the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district of Anambra State in the Senate of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That arrears of emoluments, salaries and other perquisites of office be paid to the plaintiff/ applicant (Dr. Okonkwo) from December 7, 2015 up to the date he is sworn in as senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district.
On this note, Sebastine Hon SAN, lead counsel for Dr. Okonkwo, informed the court that when defence withdraws and submits to judgment, the court was bound to give judgment in accordance with plaintiff reliefs. He cited several authorities to back his arguments. He also cited Supreme Court authorities to support argument that victory in an election does not belong to an individual but to the political party.
In this instance, he argued strongly that though the Election Petition Tribunal disqualified Ekwunife as PDP’s candidate, on the strength of an election petition by APGA, the tribunal did not at any point invalidate result of the March 2015 senatorial election for Anambra central. According to the senior advocate, the result which was also validated by the Tribunal when it ordered a recount, is still intact and valid and ought to be enjoyed by Dr. Okonkwo, if the court upholds argument that he was indeed the validly nominated candidate of the PDP.
In pronouncing Dr. Okonkwo the actual candidate and ordering that he be sworn-in, the Federal High Court was guided by superior authorities in the matter, especially decided Supreme Court judgments in Jev v Iyortyom (2016) All FWLR (Pt.837) 760 S.C.; Gbileve v Addingi (2014) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1433) 394 S.C.; Amaechi v INEC (2008) All FWLR (Pt. 407) 1 S.C.