Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Aham Ekejelam, has urged politicians to stop interfering in the affairs of the Judiciary to avoid confusion.
Ekejelam spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, following a protest by youths and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on a suit in a State High Court on the government’s injunction against the swearing in of an APC House of Assembly member-elect, Victoria Nyechie.
The woman won the April 2015 House of Assembly poll to represent Port Harcourt Constituency I.
But her mandate was put on hold by her colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who Governor Nyesom Wike had sworn in.
But the Supreme Court, late last year, restored her mandate.
Despite the court order, her seat was neither among those re-contested for in the March 19 rerun nor was it among those yet to be resolved.
During the swearing–in of the lawmakers, who won the March rerun, Wike refused to swear her in.
Instead, she was slammed with an order of injunction from a State High Court restraining her from being sworn in until she was cleared of an alleged petition she sent to the National Judicial Commission (NJC) against the government.
The matter is still in court, and Nyechie has not been sworn in.
The state runs a mono Assembly – all PDP lawmakers; the two APC lawmakers from the general and rerun polls have not been sworn in. Members of the APC are not happy about the development.
When Nyechie’s matter came up yesterday before Justice Adolphus Enebeli, APC youths protested around the court, urging the government to swear in their members.
They accused Justice Enebeli and other judges of the High Court handling APC/PDP cases, of corruption.
The youths passed a vote of no-confidence in him on Nyechie’s case and other political matters.
The judge ran into the crowd on his way to work in the morning and read his name on some of their placards that he was corrupt.
During the sitting, Justice Enebeli expressed disappointment at APC’s action.
The judge alluded to some orders he made in favour of the party and maintained to remain true in his job of justice delivery.
He said: “I am a judge and not a politician. I cannot be bought over by anybody. I give my ruling and make orders according to the facts presented before me. I cannot be pushed around.”
The judge pledged to deliver ruling on the matter without any grudge or sentiment, irrespective of what has happened.
Reacting to the development after the sitting, Ekejelam, who is Nyechie’s counsel, said: “Once a matter is in court, parties should apply restraint in diverting the attention from court to the public domain.
“I was surprised that people were protesting and this particular case happens to be one of their bases for the protest when it is coming up today. The name of the judge handling this case was clearly written on their placards.
“I think politicians should leave the Judiciary alone. This is because a judge sees the case in the way it is presented before him. Before now, only one party appeared before him and filed processes and argued. He has made some orders.
“We have filed our processes to nullify the order and revert to the case. Granted, that they are supposed to have filed their processes before now. But rather than choose to serve us this morning, the judge identified clearly the sensitive nature of this matter, and the public interest it has generated.
“He has said he does not want any further adjournments and that by Thursday we should argue the preliminary objection so he can deliver his ruling before the courts proceed on vacation.
“I am, therefore, calling on politicians to let the Judiciary do its work. If we do not have confidence, we would have written to remove the matter from the judge. But I think at the end of the day, justice must be done.”