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Tag: Supreme Court

  • Why we upheld Ikpeazu’s election – Supreme Court

    Why we upheld Ikpeazu’s election – Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court on Friday held that Okezie Ikpeazu was returned as governor of Abia because Alex Otti failed to prove the allegations brought against his victory in the April 11, 2015 governorship election.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ikpeazu and Otti contested the election on the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) respectively.

    Giving reasons for its Feb. 3 judgment, Justice Suleiman Galadima held that Otti and the APC were unable to prove the issue of over voting, allegations of violence and corrupt practices allegedly perpetrated by the respondents.

    “On the issue of over voting, the court holds that there was no sufficient proof as the voter register and the card reader report were not tendered.

    “The criminal allegation of corrupt malpractices carried out by PDP loyalists for the benefit of the governor was not also proved,’’ he held.

    On the cancellation of the election results in Obingwa, Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa by the returning officers, Galadima held that it was wrong.

    “That action amounted to the disenfranchisement of voters. It was also inappropriate for the tribunal to order the cancellation of election.

    “All of this misappropriation only gave room for the unlawful declaration of the APGA candidate by the lower court.

    “Those actions were perversion of justice and the apex court could not have allowed them,’’ he said.

    Galadima further held that the evidence placed before the court showed clearly that the tribunal usurped the constitutional duties of INEC.

    “On the card reader, the court maintains its earlier position that the tribunal cannot supplant the voter register.

    “The gadget is only meant to authenticate bearers of voter card and not meant to usurp the statutory power of the voter register.

    “At the moment, the voter register remains the only authentic document as provided by Section 49 of the Electoral Act to prove allegation of fraud in elections,’’ Galadima declared.

  • Supreme Court affirms death sentence on Rev King

    Supreme Court affirms death sentence on Rev King

    The Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction and death sentence handed to the General Overseer of Lagos-based Christian Praying Assembly, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo a.k.a Reverend King.

    He was first convicted and sentenced to death on charges of attempted murder and murder by the High Court of Lagos State on January 11, 2007.

    He was found guilty of setting ablaze six members of his church in 2006, one of who died later from the effect of the fire.

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos division affirmed the judgment of the High Court in its judgment on February 1, 2013.

    Justice Sylvester Ngwutan who read the lead judgment of the unanimous decision of a five-man bench of the Supreme Court, noted that facts in the case was akin to what could found in horror movies.

  • Supreme Court in the eye of the storm

    Addressing the Nigerian community in Ethiopia in Addis Ababa recently, President Muhammadu Buhari inter alia lamented that Nigeria’s judiciary is a major cog in the wheel of his administration’s anti-corruption fight. There is no doubt the President’s angst and displeasure derive from the numerous reported cases of the involvement of officials of the judicial branch of government in seedy and sleazy conducts. Thus, a number of magistrates and judges and justices have, at one time or the other, come under suspicion of corruptive miscarriage of justice. In fact, there have been some proven cases of the complicity of members of the bar and the bench in an unholy alliance and the peddling of undue influence leading to perversion and twisting of the law to achieve predetermined outcomes.

    Actually, this is really nothing new. Sadly, for a long time in the beleaguered history of Nigeria’s judiciary there have been cases of corruption of varied hues ranging from malfeasance through misfeasance to nonfeasance, all occasioning miscarriage of justice. One easily remembers the celebrated case of Justice Okoro-Udogu, who presided in the matter of the State versus Fela Anikulapo-Kuti on the charge of illegal exportation of foreign exchange in 1984, in which the Justice was said to have sought out the later in Maidugiri, Borno State to apologise for his wrongful imprisonment.

    For instance, in January 27, 2012 letter to former President Jonathan, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, a former CJN, admitted that the judiciary was “already integrity-deficient” and “bereft of public confidence” based on the perception of corruption and impunity and called for an urgent effort towards the “redemption of the image and credibility of the judiciary”.

    Another former CJN, Muhammadu Uwais, is also on record to have publicly spoken of the need to re-jig the structure and processes of the judiciary as an institution that like Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion “…in order to maintain the integrity of the judiciary and to assuage public feeling and restore confidence in both the bar and bench”.

    The respected Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has also weighed in by cautioning on the dangers of denying the people justice, stating that “the country is being affected by the burden of untreated justice, and that social injustice could only thrive for a while; further admonishing that “where justice appears to be lost, a higher order of restitution takes over”. This is in line with the observation by John F. Kennedy that “Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.”

    Perhaps at no time in the history of the nation’s judiciary has the stock of the once revered institution come to the lowest nadir as since the slew of decisions concerning the governorship election petitions, especially since it made its bewildering pronouncements on the 2015 governorship elections in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia states. In each of these elections, independent local and international election observers reported large scale electoral fraud. The respective legal teams provided overwhelming evidences of the electoral fraud, and marshalled compelling arguments and grounds. In each of the cases, the Court of Appeal upheld the petitions. But, hey presto! The apex court, the Supreme Court became the supreme kill-joy, hiding behind a transparent fig leaf of legal technicalities to the detriment of dispensing justice to the people.

    By its counter-intuitive decisions in each of these cases, the nation’s apex court, which had a good opportunity to restore its reputation and uphold a veneer of integrity as the ultimate refuge and last hope of the common man, has turned itself into a macabre monster that dashes the collective yearnings of the people in the affected states to effect peaceful change in their respective polities. It would be foolhardy for this court to think that it would sleep easy when the majority of the people feel cheated and believe that its judgments deny them of justice. For, no nation can thrive in peace and progress where there is no justice.

    By its putative injustice, the Supreme Court appears to be encouraging election riggers by putting out the message that you should “do everything you can to get INEC to return you as elected and go home to sleep as we will always affirm you as winner if you know your onions”. To fit this straight jacket, the Supreme Court through its serial insensate pronouncements that defy any shred of logic or rationality, is sowing the seed of ferment and the potential recourse of the people to seek change by other means.

    In the context of this recent happenings, the call during the 10th Gani Fawehinmi Lecture in Lagos sometime ago by Justice Ayo Salami, former President of the Court Appeal, for the scrapping of our present Criminal-Justice architecture in which the Chief Justice of Nigeria is also the chairman of the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC), the body responsible for the appointment and discipline of judges begins to assume new importance and poignancy.

    Nigeria need not delay further in hearkening to the 2012 Uyo Call by Justice Dahiru Musdapher, during a roundtable organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in conjunction with Royal Netherlands Embassy in Akwa Ibom State for drawing up of a new judicial code of ethics to reflect current realities and challenges to tackle judicial corruption in the country, so as to ensure that “judges and the judicial system remain politically neutral and rise up to safeguard our fledgling democracy, and to minimize the entire judicial system against all identified iniquities.”

    As has been eloquently argued elsewhere, tackling corruption in the justice sector is a pre-requisite for tackling corruption in the larger society, as this would make it more likely that corrupt persons in other sectors will be diligently prosecuted and punished. This would up the ante against corruption and discount the rewards derivable there from. In the same vein, tackling corruption in the electoral process is a sine qua non for the entrenchment of good governance as the choices of the people are then more likely to get elected in free and fair contests. There is, therefore, a need to tighten our statute books to make electoral offenders pay for their crimes and to not reward stealers of mandates with honorific titles. For instance, someone who rigged his way to become a governor should never addressed as “His Excellency” or referred to as “Former Governor”. In other words the period during which he held sway should be left blank in all public records.

    Is it not somewhat perplexing that despite the lip service that is paid to the fact that our democracy is built on the principle of “checks and balances”, that whilst the activities of the legislature are subject to scrutiny by the constituents (who have the power to recall an errant legislator) as well as the judiciary, and the  executive branch and the President are subject to oversight by the legislature and censure by the courts; the judiciary on the other hand and especially the CJN, apparently, is answerable to no one, since the NJC is ostensibly designed to check and “discipline all judicial officers” is under his purview? The million naira question is: “What is the recourse and relief available to the people if a CJN chooses to act appallingly?”

    Indeed, allowing an incumbent CJN to chair the NJC in situations such as the Supreme Court’s controversial judgments in respect of the governorship election petitions in Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States has brought to the fore is akin to allowing the President to be the chairman of the body established for charging, investigating and impeaching the self-same President. Can any rational person expect the NJC to be effective in investigating and indicting a Supreme Court panel which he (the CJN) not only constituted but was also a member for any perceived judicial perfidy?

  • Supreme Court explains decision in Taraba governorship dispute

    Supreme Court explains decision in Taraba governorship dispute

    THE Supreme Court yesterday gave reasons why it refused All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Hajia Aisha Al-Hassan’s prayer to sack Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Darius Ishaku as Taraba State governor.

    The court had, in a unanimous judgment of a seven-man bench, on February 11 this year, dismissed the APC governorship candidate’s appeal against a judgment of a five-man Court of Appeal bench, which upturned the judgment of Taraba governorship election tribunal.

    Al-Hassan, who is now Minister of Women Affairs, challenged the return of Ishaku as winner of the April 11, 2015 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the ground that he was not validly sponsored by his party.

    Al-Hassan won at the tribunal, which voided Ishaku’s election and ordered INEC to issue her a certificate of return. But her victory was overturned by the Court of Appeal, Abuja – a decision she appealed to the Supreme Court.

    On February 11, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read the lead judgment of the Supreme Court, dismissed Al-Hassan’s appeal on the ground that it lacked merit.

    Justice Rhodes-Vivour upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed Ishaku’s election and reserved reasons for the decision till February 22.

    Yesterday, Justice Rhodes-Vivour explained that the court’s decision was informed by its finding that the appellants – Al-Hassan and party – lacked the locus standi (right to bring an action) to challenge Ishaku’s election on the basis of whether or not he emerged from a valid primary.

    He held that by virtue of her not being a member of the PDP, and having not participated in the party’s primary, Al-Hassan and her party were without the requisite right to challenge the conduct of PDP’s primary.

    Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour said the court was convinced that Ishaku was duly sponsored by his party, the PDP.

    He was of the view that the evidence brought before the court had confirmed Ishaku’s membership of the PDP.

    “The matter is very simple; the apex court has ruled on matters of this nature at different occasions

    “There is no way a candidate of another political party, who did not participate in the primary of another political party, could suddenly rise to challenge the conduct of such an exercise.

    “It is, therefore, clear that the appeals and all the cross appeals against the election of Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba have no redeemable substance,’’ Rhodes-Vivour said.

    He affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal on the ground that the tribunal “grossly misdirected itself” by upturning Ishaku’s victory.

     

  • Taraba: S/Court give reasons for dismissing Alhassan’s appeal

    The Supreme Court on Monday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate in Taraba, Aisha Alhassan, had no locus standi to challenge the nomination of Governor Darius Ishiaku by his party.

    The apex court made the declaration while giving reasons for dismissing the appeal of APC and Alhassan in its judgment on Feb.11.

    Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read details of the judgment, said the appeals and cross appeals had no redeemable substance.

    The court held that the governor was duly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest in the election, adding that evidence brought before it had confirmed Ishiaku’s membership of the party.

    “The matter is very simple, the apex court has ruled on matters of this nature at different occasions.

    “There is no way a candidate of another political party who did not participate in the primaries of another political party could suddenly rise to challenge the conduct of such an exercise.

    “It is therefore, clear that the appeals and the entire cross appeals against the election of Governor Darius Ishiaku of Taraba have no redeemable substance,” Rhodes-Vivour held.

    The apex court also declared that the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal grossly misdirected itself by upturning Ishiaku’s victory.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the tribunal had nullified the
    governor’s election and went ahead to declare Alhassan as duly elected governor of Taraba.

    An appeal by Ishiaku set aside the tribunal judgement, prompting Alhassan and the APC to approach the apex court, which dismissed their appeals and affirmed the validity of the governor’s election.

  • Can Supreme court reverse itself on Ekiti poll?

    Can Supreme court reverse itself on Ekiti poll?

    The shocking revelation by the former Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko, that the June 21, 2014 governorship election was rigged in favour of Governor Ayo Fayose has dominated public discourse. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines some salient issues thrown up by the bombshell.

    Dr. Temitope Kolawole Aluko, the erstwhile Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary in Ekiti State, has dominated the airwaves and headlines of major newspapers since January 31 when he appeared on Channels Television to drop a bomb shell on the June 21, 2014 governorship election in the Fountain of Knowledge.

    He claimed that the election, which produced Governor Ayo Fayose of the PDP as winner, was rigged and never represented the wishes of Ekiti people across the 2,195 polling units in the 16 local government areas.

    The university lecturer-turned politician had alleged the use of the military to harass, intimidate and oppress the opposition, thereby giving undue electoral advantage to the PDP. According to him, federal might was deployed to snatch victory from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He also revealed that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave Fayose $2 million before the PDP primary and $35 million for the governorship election.

    According to him, the compromised military officers wore special armbands and were given specific areas of operations and targets to ensure that the opposition leaders and supporters were demobilised on election day.

    He said officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were bribed N1 billion to favour the PDP during the contest.

    Aluko’s claims are weighty. They have cast a thick pall of slur on the integrity of elections. Aluko backed his claims with several documents.

    Some watchers of the unfolding drama in Ekiti are of the view that, although Aluko fell out with Fayose over the latter’s refusal to compensate him after the victory, the message he (Aluko) has passed is important for the appropriate authorities to take action.

    A political analyst, Taiwo Olawuyi, said: “The message is very important and no attempt should be made to trivialise this matter. The revelation of TKO (Aluko) is more than enough for any country that is serious to save its democracy from being sabotaged because this is a felony against the State.

    Aluko should be commended for risking his life to come out with these very shocking  revelations and it is not too late to remedy the situation. Although the state government has secured a warrant of arrest against him, but the question remains, did all what he said not happen? The message should be separated from the messenger.

    “The Ekiti electorate have been shortchanged and this (June 21, 2014) governorship election could not pass for an election that pass the test of integrity. The same person (Fayose) could have emerged winner if this electoral coup was not committed against the people.

    “I expect some actions to follow because if this one is swept under the carpet, we should expect more egregious electoral perfidy in the years ahead and the perpetrators must be made to face the consequences of their actions.”

    Aluko was an insider and whatever he said should not be dismissed with a wave of the hand. He was an active participant in the process that started from the party’s congresses and culminated in the election.

    Apart from his vantage position as the PDP Secretary, Aluko was the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of the Fayose Campaign Organisation. He also served as his party’s Returning Officer during the election, as he was the PDP signatory to the official result sheet at the Collation Centre.

    All these positions he held placed him at the ringside to know what really transpired as he kept custody of documents of the party and committees he was privileged to serve.

    The relationship between Aluko and Fayose predated the political bond between them as the duo grew up in the same neighbourhood in Ibadan, Oyo State in the 60s.

    They are from the same Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area. While Fayose is from Afao Ekiti, Aluko is from Iyin Ekiti. Aluko, although a teacher at the then Ekiti State University supported Fayose to emerge as the PDP candidate and eventually a governor.

    Aluko’s ex-wife, Tosin, was a key member of the Ayo Fayose Foundation and Movement (AFFM), in the run-up to the 2003 governorship election.

    Tosin was later elected as the Chairman of Ado Ekiti Local Government under the Segun Oni administration. She is at present a commissioner in the Local Government Service Commission under Fayose.

    Throughout Fayose’s first stint in power, which ended abruptly in October 2006 through an impeachment by 24 of 26 members of the House of Assembly, Aluko was one of the members of Fayose’s intellectual think-tank.

    As the 2011 general elections drew near, Aluko resigned from the Ekiti State University in March 2010 to contest for the House of Representatives in Ekiti Central 1 Constituency comprising Ado Ekiti and Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Areas.

    Fayose and many members of his political family had moved to the Labour Party (LP) where he (Fayose) ran as senatorial candidate for Ekiti Central, which he lost to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Babafemi Ojudu.

    Aluko did not follow Fayose to the LP as he (Aluko) won the PDP House of Representatives ticket for Ekiti Central 1, but lost to the ACN candidate, Opeyemi Bamidele.

    Having tasted the bitter pill of defeat in his quest for a senatorial seat on the platform of LP, some PDP loyalists, including Aluko, convinced Fayose to return to the PDP in 2011 to take another shot at the governorship seat.

    But, for Fayose to realise the dream, he had many mountains to climb which include getting a waiver to return to the party and hijacking the party structure, which was then dominated by the Segun Oni Campaign Organization (SOCO) elements.

    Former Minister of Police Affairs Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd) teamed up with Fayose to upstage Oni at the PDP congress in March 2012 as their candidates won majority of the members of the State Working Committee (SWC).

    Some key members of the SWC that emerged from the state congress supervised by former Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Cook Olododo, included Makanjuola Ogundipe (Chairman), Olufemi Bamisile (Deputy Chairman), Aluko (Secretary), Mrs. Busola Oyebode (Women Leader) Kola Oluwawole (Publicity Secretary), just to mention a few.

    With these personalities, most of whom were loyal to Fayose, they had prepared the ground for the former governor’s comeback bid.

    Before the governorship primary election, Aluko spearheaded the agitation for waiver to Fayose which was granted by the National Working Committee (NWC) headed by the former PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu and this gave him the green light to run as a candidate.

    Controversies raged over the method to be adopted in selecting the party’s governorship candidate, with a section of the party led by former chairman Ogundipe rooting for consensus option while another section of the party with Aluko as the arrowhead championing the primary option.

    President Jonathan and the national leadership of the PDP were convinced to adopt the primary option. Aluko kept custody of the register of delegates, which was believed to have been tilted in favour of Fayose, hence, his victory at the shadow poll.

    The immediate cause of the feud between Fayose and Aluko was the governor’s alleged failure to honour “office sharing agreement” struck before the election. While Bamisile, the former PDP Deputy Chairman and a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, was pencilled for the deputy governorship slot, Aluko was to become the Chief of Staff.

    Shortly after Fayose secured the ticket, he appointed Dr. Kolapo Olusola as his running mate, a move which angered Bamisile and forced him to defect to the APC. but Aluko stayed in the party, hoping to get the Chief of Staff position. But, that was not to be, as the governor appointed Chief Dipo Anisulowo from Are Ekiti.

    Aluko’s name featured for appointment as Commissioner for Education and later as the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Chairman, given his academic background. But, Fayose gave these positions to Jide Egunjobi and Senator Bode Ola, a defector from the ACN.

    With Fayose consolidating his hold on power, the party structure was his next target and an opportunity came when the erstwhile chair, Ogundipe, was nominated for the chairmanship of the party in the Southwest with the governor nominating his ally, Chief Idowu Faleye, as the acting chairman.

    Aluko and other SWC members kicked against Faleye’s nomination on the grounds that it violated the PDP constitution which forbids two SWC members coming from the same ward. At the time of Faleye’s nomination, the Youth Leader was from the same Ido Ward 1 in Ido/Osi LGA with Faleye.

    Eleven SWC members led by Aluko nominated Vice Chairman (Ekiti North Senatorial District), Tunde Olatunde, as the state PDP Acting Chairman, which polarised the party. Aluko and his group accused Fayose of serial violation of the party constitution and the crisis raged until Fayose with the support of the national leadership expelled Aluko and three others from the party.

    Although the Ekiti governorship election has come and gone, some observers believe that the latest revelations from Aluko on what transpired at the last governorship election are issues that must not be swept under the carpet if Nigeria is to get it right in the sacred responsibility of electing leaders.

    According to Aluko, who said he was part of Fayose’s inner circle during the election, alleged that Jonathan initially gave the incumbent Ekiti governor a first tranche of $2 million in March 2014 for the primary election.

    He noted that this cash was collected at the NNPC headquarters in Abuja and was taken to Fayose’s private house, in Abuja before it was moved to Ekiti.

    “Immediately after the primary election, we collected another $35 million from Jonathan on June 17, 2014. The money was brought to us by the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

    “We all assembled at the front office of Spotless Hotel, Ado Ekiti, owned by Fayose. Thereafter, the cash was taken to a Bureau De Change in Onitsha where it was converted to N4.7 billion”, Aluko added.

    Aluko, further alleged that Fayose received about N3 billion cash from  Buruji Kashamu in 2013 to revive the PDP in Ekiti State.

    The Ekiti PDP scribe also gave account on how the military was used to win the election.

    Aluko said: “The former President agreed with Fayose and summoned a security meeting at the Presidential Villa for the purpose of the election.

    “Those at the meeting were the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh; former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Kenneth Minimmah; and former National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.

    “Others included Fayose, Senator Iyiola Omisore, former Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan and Obanikoro.

    “At that meeting, the former President made it clear to the ex- Chief of Defence Staff that Fayose would stand for him (as Commander-In-Chief) in terms of providing security for the election”.

    Aluko alleged that Fayose, relying on Jonathan’s directive, approached the former Commander of the Army Brigade in Akure, Brig. Gen. Dikko to take charge of the election for the PDP, who refused to cooperate and was replaced after a petition was filed against him.

    “But, Gen. Dikko did not give us audience. He stated bluntly that he would not be available for such operation. So, Fayose filed a petition against him which led to his replacement with Brig. Gen. Aliyu Momoh who was amenable to our plans”.

    Aluko alleged that a total of 64 PDP stalwarts who had knowledge of their local government areas were picked to provide information on opposition members.

    “They gave detailed information regarding names and locations of opposition members in all the local governments, the various routes, areas of strength and weaknesses of the PDP in the 16 local governments.

    “Today, most of these 64 hatchet men are members of the Senate, House of Representatives, state House of Assembly, commissioners, local government chairmen, special advisers and the rest,” Aluko said.

    He continued: “We went into the election with 1040 recognised soldiers and another batch of 400 unrecognised soldiers brought from Enugu by Sen. Andy Uba.

    “In addition, we raised 44 special strike teams; brought in Toyota Hilux buses from Abuja and Onitsha. We made special stickers for the vehicles that conveyed members of the strike teams and black hand bands for each of them.

    “Each strike team was made up of 10 members headed by a soldier. The team was consisted of soldiers, policemen, DSS operatives and Civil Defence corps. They were detailed to attack and arrest prominent APC chieftains in all the local governments.

    “We set up anchorage, mainly residential houses, in every local government where the strike team members collected their welfare and other allowances.

    “To encourage the strike team members, we gave them orders to share money and other valuables they could lay their hands on in the houses of APC chieftains they raided.

    “Then we set up detention camps, mainly in primary schools where most of the APC chieftains were detained. Others were detained in police stations where the DPOs were friendly with us. We let them off after the election was over.

    “A day to the election, we used the military to block all routes in the local governments and prevented APC chieftains, including former Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi from coming into Ekiti.

    “So, we ensured that no APC chieftain was in sight on election day. We provided polling agents for the APC in most of the polling units so we had no problem getting them to sign election results in the units.

    “All these local and foreign observers that described the election free and fair only witnessed the voting exercise on election day without knowing what transpired before the voting”.

    The revelations by Aluko, although coming a bit late has provided a challenge to some institutions like the police, DSS, INEC and the Judiciary to institute a further inquest into the Ekiti governorship electoral scandal which has dented the image of Nigeria in the international community.

    The Army has has led the way by commissioning a probe into the involvement of some officers and men in the Ekiti rigging drama and came up with far-reaching decisions including compulsory retirement of two officers, loss of command by three officers and the prosecution of one for collecting financial gratification.

    Fifteen officers are to be placed on watch list, nine officers to be further investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), six officers to face an audit committee and 62 officers mostly of the rank of Major and below) to be given Letters of Displeasure and to appear before their General Officers Commanding (GOCs) for counseling.

    Human rights activist and lawyer Morakinyo Ogele, who hailed the military for taking the action, said the civilian collaborators like Obanikoro; Adesiyan; Omisore and Chris Uba must be prosecuted for their roles in the rigging scandal.

    Ogele has vowed to approach the Federal High Court to seek a relief that the election should be declared null and void. He urged other well-meaning Nigerians not to keep quiet on the scandal, but to ensure that the electorate who were defrauded get justice.

    He said the secret audio recording of the meeting of PDP chiefs and the military officers led by Gen. Aliyu Momoh is a fresh evidence, which was not looked into by the Election Tribunal, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

    Ogele said: “Criminal matters are not statute-barred, they can be revisited no matter how long they had happened in the past. It is the function of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to take up the matter because he is the chief law officer of the country.

    “Those who perpetrated these acts have committed heinous crimes against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act (as amended) and the full weight of the law must be brought on them.

    “It must be investigated whether the $37 million allegedly spent on the Ekiti election are part of the funds meant for the purchase of arms believed to have been diverted into elections.

    “It is in our electoral law that money should not be used unduly to influence election either to canvass for votes tor o subvert the electoral process. The criminal aspect of what happened at the Ekiti election should be looked into and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.”

  • Still on the Supreme Court judgment on elections

    SIR: Some Supreme Court decisions have caused great frustrations and confusion and produced much disarray in law enforcement and criminal justice procedures. They placed strained, if not distorted constructions on the constitution, overruled long established judicial precedents, and shocked law enforcement agents; and by dubiously invoking specious procedural technicalities and grossly exaggerating the legitimate virtues of civil liberties, confessed and confirmed criminals have been released on society.

    In my opinion, the recent Supreme Court decision on the recent 2015 gubernatorial elections, especially, the  case of Rivers State have done more than any other single thing to contribute to a general atmosphere of electoral crime in this country. When electoral criminals and their accomplices know that they can commit electoral crimes and may not be apprehended, but if apprehended stand a good chance of being allowed to get off a mere technicality, it only encourages more electoral crime, vis-à-vis, ballot snatching/stuffing, kidnap of electoral umpire/officials, killing, maiming and arson etc. The ‘wise men’ of the Supreme Court choose to close their eyes on the magnitude of violence that marred the Rivers State gubernatorial elections, based on the reason(s) best known to them, only for them to come around and give us some strange reasons.

    No wonder, they say the law is an “ass”; it punishes the innocent, and sets the guilty free.

    A situation where, election observers, both local and international including two courts – the Tribunal and Appeal court, and other Nigerians alike are wrong, by saying the election was below standards by all ramifications, they still went ahead to deliver the judgment the way it suits them.

    As a concerned Nigerian, my only fear is not the morning of the judgment, but the evening. In other words, anybody can contest an election, and decide to win by ‘hook and crook’, including displaying all arsenals within his reach, bearing in mind that if he goes to court, especially the ‘Supreme’, he will get justice, using the services of the best ‘learned’ intelligent and erudite Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN’s) that money can buy. What a pity!

    It is no more news that the states of Rivers, Bayelsa, in the South/South region and Kogi in the North Central are prone to electoral violence/malpractice. And they are also dens of cultists. Very recently, a group of cultist killed over 20 people, during clash with one of the rival group, in Omoku, near Port Harcourt, in Rivers State. Has the Apex Court not legalized electoral violence and other related crimes through the back door by applying the so-called technicalities of law as usual? God save Nigerian/Nigerians from our judiciary. What a hope of the so-called common man indeed!

    I am not for or against Governor Wike or Candidate Peterside, either PDP or APC. Far from that, but to ensure that our votes count in future elections in Nigeria. This time around the Apex Court did not get it right – period! And they must accept our criticism in good faith.

     

    • Engineer U.S Ladan (Snr),

    Jos.

  • Supreme Court ruling: Wike’s appointees afraid of sack

    Supreme Court ruling: Wike’s appointees afraid of sack

    •Governor recalls Finance commissioner, accountant-general

    FEar of sack has gripped some political appointees of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike following their alleged romance with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    With campaigns for legislature rerun elections slated for March 19, the Wike government is said to have pencilled down appointees for sack for their alleged double dealing.

    Sources said in Port Harcourt yesterday that some appointees had allegedly met with the leadership of the state’s APC and discussed the possibility of defecting from the PDP.

    They were, however, advised to maintain their positions pending the Supreme Court judgment, with the expectation that Wike’s  election would be nullified.

    But the governor’s suspension of the Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Fred Kpakol, and the Accountant General, Sir Abere Dagogo, and their recall sent panic among those who tried to dump the governor.

    The source said some intending defectors were being monitored. It was also said the leadership of the party pretended  it did not know what was happening by resolving not to confront them not to create the impression that the Supreme Court judgment would not favour the governor.

    Said the source: ”If they were confronted then, the APC would have made it a big issue, and their supporters  would have equally followed their leaders to the APC. It was clear they were bidding their time, but now that they were disappointed by the Supreme Court, they will not go unpunished.”

    Wike has lifted the suspension  of Dr Kpakol and  Sir Dagogo.

    Addressing public servants and political  leaders during  a Special Valentine Couples’ Night,  organised by his wife, Justice  Eberechi Suzzette, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike  said  the suspension  was lifted in deference  to the interventions  by different  leaders and as a show of love on Valentine.

    Wike  urged  the appointees to differentiate between friendship and governance  in  their functions.

    He said: “Governance  is a serious  business. It is not friendship.  When it comes to governance I won’t acknowledge friendship.

    “I will lift the suspension on the Finance commissioner and the accountant-general, but they must henceforth  take  their functions  seriously.  Next time, I will not take into consideration  the pleas of political  stakeholders”.

    He advised political  appointees to take their responsibilities  serious  as his administration  must succeed in the delivery  of  projects.

     

     

     

  • Akwa Ibom: Lower court decisions on facts not law, says Supreme Court

    Akwa Ibom: Lower court decisions on facts not law, says Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court yesterday adduced reasons for affirming Udom Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as validly elected governor of Akwa Ibom State.

    Justice Chima Nweze, who gave the reasons, said that the decision of the lower court was a mis-judgment based on only facts and not on the provisions of the laws.

    Nweze said the decisions of the lower court swayed the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the use of card readers for the election

    He held that the lower court denied the governor fair hearing.

    “From the study of the evidence brought before us, Udom Emmanuel won the highest lawfully cast votes.

    “This has placed the court to set aside the judgments of the two lower courts as the other parties challenging his victory could prove otherwise.

    “The lower courts were wrong to have cancelled elections in 18 and subsequently the entire 31 Local Government Areas of the state on the basis of non-compliance,’’ he held.

    “While we commend the introduction of the card readers, the innovation, however, cannot supersede the voters register.

    “The extant laws of the federation provides for the use of voters register but the card reader irrespective of its importance does not have a place in any extant law of the land,’’ Nweze held.

    Justice Nweze, therefore, held that the tribunal was wrong to base its judgment on non-compliance with the use of card readers.

    On allegation of violence and irregularities during the election, Nweze said Umana Umana and the All Progressives Congress (APC) failed to prove the allegations.

    “The two respondents were not able to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt because they failed to bring witnesses from all the polling units to substantiate their claims,’’ Nweze said.

    Justice Nweze held that to prove non-accreditation, the respondents ought to have tendered the voters register and then demonstrate it how it was abused.

    “I do align myself to earlier decision of the apex court that the provision of the law recognises the voters register as the only key element to conduct any elections,” he said.

    Noting that INEC had power to make subsidiary regulations regarding conduct of election, Nweze held that the regulations must conform to constitutional provisions.

    Justice Nweze held that the extant laws did not give room for arbitrary nullification of an election.

    “Petitioners have got to prove that there was substantial non-compliance in all polling units before we could take such allegation serious,” he said.

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja had nullified the Akwa Ibom governorship election of April 11.

    The governor’s election was challenged by the APC and its candidate, Umana.

    At the election tribunal, the governor secured partial victory, as it ordered a rerun in 18 out of the state’s 31 local government areas.

    The governor challenged the ruling, insisting he won in all 31 local government areas, but the Court of Appeal went on to nullify the entire election.

    Justices Mary Peter-Odili and Clara Ogunbiyi had hinged on the above reasons to justify the return of Delta,Yobe and Oyo States governors.

  • Land case: Malami, Offor head for Supreme Court

    Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Chairman Shehu Malami and Chrome Group Chairman Emeka Offor have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal’s verdict on a disputed property at Plot 1809, Asokoro, Abuja.

    The Court of Appeal had held that the property belongs to a Nigerian-American businessman, Mr. Imoakhuede Ohikhuare.

    Last May 28, it ruled that Ohikhuare was forcefully evicted from the property on September 12, 2012 through an unlawful execution of the judgment of an Abuja High Court, which transferred the property to Malami.

    Malami claimed at the Appeal Court that he sold the land in question and gave an irrevocable power of attorney to Offor in 2005 before he (Malami) instituted a case at the High Court in 2006. But, the Court of Appeal entered judgment against the elder statesman and Offor.

    The apex court adjourned the matter to May 17 due to the absence of the fourth respondent – former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Habibu Aliyu, who allegedly the property to Ohikhuare in 2006.

    Ohikhuare was said to have bought the land for N50 million, and built residential apartments valued at about N1 billion on it.

    According to him, for four years during which he occupied the land, Malami, Offor or their privies did not lay claims to the property.

    He was living with his family in the property when he was allegedly ejected with force from it on the basis of Justice Umar’s verdict which the Court of Appeal set aside.