The Nation Newspaper

Tag: verdicts

  • Worrying verdicts

    In the last couple of weeks, sundry institutions, groups and individuals have come up with verdicts on the state of Nigeria’s economy and politics. The frequency and direction of these opinions have raised genuine fears on the future of the country.

    Some of the economic and political development indices highlighted have been so scarring and damning that one begins to wonder whether our leaders can possibly muster what it takes to wriggle out of the quagmire. Though some of these issues have been in public domain, the way they have been presented, left no one in doubt that we are really in turbulent times.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) seemed to have fired the first salvo when it reeled out scarring indices of an ailing economy in urgent need of redemption. It said the nation’s GDP contracted by 0.36 per cent in the first quarter of this year representing the first negative growth in many years. The economy also suffered contraction in the second quarter and a slide into recession as the Naira depreciated, businesses declined and unemployment grew in leaps.

    A report by the United Nation’s on Nigeria’s Common Country Analysis also revealed “a deeply divided society on the basis of the plurality of ethnic, religious and regional identities that had tended to define the country’s political existence” It painted a gloomy picture of the country with most of the development and social indices registering at levels unacceptable.

    The report further observed that for decades, different segments of the Nigerian population had at different times, expressed feelings of marginalization, of being short-changed, dominated and oppressed, threatened or even targeted for elimination.

     A US Congressman, Tom Marino seemed to have upped the ante on these negative assessments when in a letter to the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, he urged his home government to withhold security assistance to Nigeria until Buhari demonstrates “commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy; freedom of assemble and freedom of speech” He faulted the anti-corruption campaign of the government for focusing almost exclusively on members of the opposition while overlooking corruption among some close advisors of Buhari. Marino also spoke on extra-judicial killings of 347 people in Kaduna and 36 pro-Biafra movement members and attempts to silence opposition.

    There are two strands of negative indicators that have been highlighted by these opinions-economic and political. As regards the former, we have been presented with an economy in deep recession characterized by Naira depreciation, overall contraction in economic activities culminating in huge job losses. There are also issues of galloping inflation and debilitating poverty as 64 per cent of Nigerians are rated to be living below the poverty line.

    The government has admitted the country is in recession and by that, it is unlikely to quarrel with these indicators which ipso facto are features of an economy in recession. It has promised through its minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun that the economy will be turned round in no distant time through investment in capital and diversification.

    The same sentiments had been shared by President Buhari who appealed for patience with an assurance that “we are going to get out of our economic problems”  They have also talked of a number of interventions to revive the ailing economy even as such measures have at best remained mere conjectures. A kite was recently flown about emergency powers which the president intends to seek from the national assembly to deal with extant challenges.

    Though no such presentation has come before the national assembly, there is everything to suggest that the idea is not going to be an easy sail. We would rather have Buhari kick off with the enormous powers he enjoys under the constitution before any resort to such extraordinary powers that could easily lend themselves to abuse given that absolute power corrupts absolutely. However, getting through such a request would seem a tall order.

    But the National Council of States, after a meeting last week said it had endorsed a number of measures for the government to deal with the situation. Curiously, such measures were kept under wraps. Ironically, such intervention measures are direly needed now to steer the ship of the nation away from the brink to which it is inevitably headed.

    There is massive poverty and suffering in the land occasioned by the economic policies of the government and something urgent must be done before majority of our people are consigned to their early graves. Before now, it has been a fad by the government and its apologists to blame the previous regime for the current pass.

    We have since moved beyond such buck passing and stereotypes. We have gone beyond the worn-out issue of how past leaders failed to plan for the future; failed to diversify the economy and similar rationalizations. We are confronted by extant situations that should task the creative energies and ingenuity of leaders to make the difference. History is surfeit with records of leaders who came at very trying moments of their country but were able to turn them around very positively. That is the kind of rare expertise, high credentials and uncommon patriotic courage the situation now requires.

    But, does the government as presently constituted have what it takes to turn around the fortunes of this country for the better. What of our economic managers: are they the best the nation can boast of in the present circumstance? Do they exude sufficient confidence in terms of experience and capacity to grapple with the complex situation brought to the fore by the recession?

    Perhaps, the UN recommendation that “transforming and diversifying Nigeria’s development paths needed a radical and new approach, especially by investing in people and in a strong more dynamic and inclusive productive informal sector” should be instructive. The question is whether we have seen the prospects of such radical and novel approaches?

    However, the success of new and radial approaches to our mounting economic challenges is intricately linked to the application of similar measures at the political front. For, the line between the economy and politics is a very thin one.

    The UN report spoke of a deeply divided society on the basis of the plurality of ethnic, religious and regional lines. Marino highlighted the absence of an all inclusive government and commitment to freedom of assembly and speech. He wants the US to urge Buhari to form a “government that represents the diversity of its citizens and allows dissenting voices to be heard”

    These systemic dysfunctions cannot be dismissed off handedly as the Minister of Information Lai Mohammed had tended to. So also are the issues of alienation, marginalization; of being short-changed, and threatened as aptly captured in the UN report. Though some of the issues raised by Marino may have been slightly exaggerated, it was wrong to have concluded as Mohammed did that his views were out of tune with reality; imaginary and ill-informed.

     If anything, they serve as a sad reminder to issues that are already in the court of public opinion. What is required now is for the government to take up these negative indicators and evolve urgent ways of resolving them so that our divided and fatally fragmented peoples can once again unite and pool their creative energies together for the better. And unless the political dimensions of these verdicts are addressed through genuine, honest and equitable approaches, they will continue to negate efforts at economic development as the Niger Delta case has shown.

  • Were Supreme Court ’s verdicts on polls influenced?

    Since the Supreme Court heard and delivered judgments in the governorship election petition appeals, especially from Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia states, there have been scathing remarks, most often with more syllables than sense, often low on logical or legal reasoning. But were the verdicts influenced?

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed has had cause to condemn openly and loudly, the conflicting judgments being delivered by various Court of Appeal divisions; most especially on the governorship election appeals with similar facts and point of law.

    When appeals on the same matters were brought before the Supreme Court, the CJN, in his own wisdom, gave case files on each appeal to ten or all the Justices in some instances, to study.

    Thereafter, the CJN constituted seven-man panel out of the 16 Justices that went through the case files of the appeals. The panels heard and decided the appeals the same day. In other words, the Justices sitting on a particular appeal don’t even know he will sit on it; and invariably don’t know other Justices in the panel prior to the day set for hearing and determination of the appeal.

    Of course, the CJN took all these measures to avoid collusion or collaboration, in order to frustrate, make it difficult or impossible for politicians with dubious intentions to bungle cases in the courts.

    Even on the day of hearing on the appeals, the panel members stayed together and ate together; when the lawyers finished their arguments, or when the cases were closed, the panel members sat in conferences, with every member sharing what they felt are the facts, issues and the laws in the appeal just heard.

    These collective submissions formed the decision of the panel in the appeal; either to uphold the appeal or throw it out. In a situation where a panel member or few members dissent, a dissenting judgment would have been concurrently read after majority decision was read.

    The question is, in a human setting, could all the 16 Justices have collectively and/or severally received bribes to deliver judgments unanimously in all the governorship election petition appeals?

    Even the avid antagonists in this argument would say “not likely”.  Even if the answer is yes, can the bribe items defy all security radars without traces, or could all the Justices have possibly dug up the soil in their abodes or caused the bribe items to vanish into the air?

    The Supreme Court Justices appear to be giving credence to Verse 81 of Dhamapada, a collection of  the sayings of Buddha; otherwise known as Buddhist Scriptures; which says that ‘’Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.”

    The Supreme Court maintained its cool while heaps of insults, intimidation and disrespectful attacks were launched even from some unexpected quarters. In any case, this would be left for another day’s discussion.

    Of course, in other climes, the Judiciary could have docked some people for contempt of court, or the offence of being disrespectful towards a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies authority, justice, and dignity of the court of law.

    Perhaps, the Judiciary felt that by so doing may, it might be taken as an attempt to scare those with real evidence of bribery from coming forward to lodge it against them; hence it is waiting for those properly charged with responsibility to clear the air to do its job.

    Generally, the courts have the last and the most authoritative say in the determination and pronouncement of what justice demands in every situation involving claims and counter-claims to legal rights and duties, but the justice meted out by her is human and not divine.

    It usually depends upon the parties to a dispute to prove their cases by furnishing it with all the facts in issue which it weighs and sifts, identifying and declaring those of them it has accepted to be true, material, and relevant.

    The Supreme Court reiterated the proper function of courts in Sagay v Sajere (2000) 4 SC (Part 1) 187 at 193 where it held that the decision of a court must be based on the evidence and on reason. It should not be based on the intuition of the judge or conjecture, or what the judge, untrammelled by the evidence, conceives to be a fair conclusion.

    For instance, on Friday, January 18, 2008, the Supreme Court gave its reasons for its earlier judgment on October 25, 2007, in the phenomenal case of Amaechi v. Omehia. It was a judgment which sent shocks and reverberations across the country, warning particularly, the political class that the days of crass irresponsibility and lawlessness were over; thereby forcing constitutionality and civilised conduct upon the political class.

    The verdict of the Supreme Court did not only expose the shortcomings in our laws, but also the shortcoming in our understanding of our laws. While we may not necessarily agree with the court’s decision, we must nevertheless respect it as being the result of measured, considered thought; the sum total of vast intellect and the product of conscientious erudition.

    Perhaps, this is why our Chief Justice was at pains to state publicly the famous words of Thomas Aquinas that  “Every judgment of conscience, be it right or wrong, be it about things evil in themselves or morally indifferent, is obligatory, in such wise that he who acts against his conscience always sins.”

     

    • Isah writes from Abuja 

  • Conflicting judicial verdicts

    When Chief Justice Mahmud Mohammed recently cried out on conflicting judicial pronouncements from the Court of Appeal, he was apparently moved by the need to restore some sanity in judicial judgments and shore up public confidence in that institution.

    In an address at the Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, he told the justices that “the overriding objective of every legal system in the world is to do justice. However this cannot be achieved where there is confusion as to the state of the law as pronounced by the courts”. In apparent reference to these irreconcilable rulings, he told the justices they were not allowed to continue to shift the goalpost while the game was on.

    The admonitions of Justice Mohammed are timely given events in the nation’s judiciary since the conclusion of the last general elections. Following its outcome, candidates who had issues approached the various state election petitions tribunals to seek redress. But the way some of these petitions have been handled have left much to be desired. Not unexpectedly, allegations of miscarriage of justice, bias and other influences have been copiously canvassed against the judiciary.

    The impression one gets from these sometimes conflicting verdicts is either that the laws are imprecise; some of the officers charged with their interpretation are not competent or some other unwholesome considerations were at play. Or, how do we explain the wide disparity in the legal and constitutional grounds that have been cited to justify some of these decisions?  What of the issue of conflicts Justice Mohammed publicly complained about? Where do we fit in legal precedent when identical cases are curiously resolved very differently? Or did the justices not drink from the same fountain of legal knowledge? These moot questions are at the heart of the waning public confidence in the capacity of the judiciary to do justice to cases brought before them.

    Perhaps, issues raised here will be driven home most poignantly by the Abia and Taraba states’ governorship election petitions. In the case of Abia, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA, Alex Otti had challenged the election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.

    The crux of the petition is non-compliance with the electoral act through the cancellation of the results of Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa north local governments by the returning officer. The Abia State Election Petitions Tribunal had ruled that the PDP validly won the election as Otti failed to prove his case “beyond doubt”. The tribunal failed to grant his request to uphold the cancellation of the results in the three local governments as the state returning officer was not allowed under the law to cancel the said results, hence his subsequent reversal of same had no effect.

    But the Appeal Court in Owerri, declared Otti as the winner of the election having scored 164,444 valid votes against Ikpeazu’s 114, 444 votes after cancelling the elections in the three local governments. It further ruled that there was no need for a re-run because the results present Otti as the genuine winner even as it asked the INEC to swear him in as the governor of Abia State.

    The Appeal Court may be within its rights to differ with the tribunal in its ruling in respect of the results from three local governments. But the real issue is what it makes of that decision. In this regard, even as it decided to cancel the results of those local governments, there are issues regarding its conclusions that there is no need for a re-run. This is more so when it is reported that the total voting strength of the three local governments stands at above 300,000 people.

    The purport is that this huge number of the electorate would be disenfranchised in the choice of the governor of their state. But then, the universally accepted ratio of voters’ turnout vis-à-vis the total number of registered voters is put at about one third. What this implies is that about 100,000 valid votes were not put into reckoning in determining the winner of that election. And when the margin of votes with which the Appeal Court ruled in favour of Otti is taken into account, the flaw in that decision becomes more glaring.

    It is a slap on representative democracy for the Court of Appeal to have ignored the sovereignty of the electorate by awarding victory to the APGA candidate without putting the voting rights of such a huge number of registered voters into reckoning. The right thing to do is to order a re-run in the three local governments which are said to be part of the constituency of the PDP candidate. This is not only in tandem with the Electoral Act but will erase any suspicion of deliberate attempt to rob Ikpeazu of victory through the instrumentality of the judiciary.

    There are also issues in the decision of the court asking the INEC to issue Certificate of Return and swear in Otti as the governor of the state. The riot that erupted in the state following the ruling has direct bearing with the perception that the Appeal Court was bent on having the APGA candidate sworn in even before the case runs its full course. It must have been seen as a deliberate ploy to award the governorship election to Otti at all costs when the right to appeal is still open to Ikpeazu.  The hurry to get Otti sworn in is at the root of the criticisms that have trailed the Appeal Court ruling.

    If the Appeal Court’s handling of the Abia case shows some bias and inconsistency, that of Taraba state exposes how shoddily the election petitions tribunal handled the case before it. The grounds on which the Appeal Court upturned the verdict of the tribunal have put the competences of the tribunal judges in doubt. Legal and constitutional issues which ordinarily should have been at the disposal of the tribunal were flagrantly ignored in arriving at the decision to disqualify Darius Ishaku as the duly elected governor of the state. The ruling of the Appeal Court that the disqualification of the PDP candidate, Darius Ishaku is a pre-election matter which the tribunal has no jurisdiction, speaks volumes.

    The judges ruled that the constitution clearly states that unless a candidate has been indicted by a court of law or is known to have criminal record or certain degree of health conditions, such a candidate cannot be determined by a tribunal as not being qualified as a candidate.

    Why these grounds were not availed or totally ignored by the tribunal is part of the reasons for public disenchantment with some of the verdicts emanating from our judiciary. Above all, they raise questions as to the competences of some of our judges. Ordinarily, one would have expected those who occupy such elated offices to be people of high competence and integrity in the call of their duty. They are also supposed to be well groomed in the intricacies of legal arguments, extant laws of this country and logic such that they are not easily faulted by their colleagues.

    The credibility of the judiciary is tainted each time judges who are supposed to be very competent in the interpretation of our laws are easily faulted by their colleagues. It is true that an appellate court can overrule a lower court. But in such situations, it is not envisaged that the grounds would be rudimentary points of law that ordinarily should be at disposal of even the man on the street.

    It remains curious how the ruling of the Appeal Court in the case of Abia State that clearly disenfranchised over 300,000 voters can satisfy the true test of free, fair and credible election. The right thing is for a re-run to be conducted to allow the people of the three local governments exercise their franchise in the choice of their governor. Nothing should be done either to abridge or circumvent this inalienable right. Anything to the contrary will amount to procuring the peoples mandate through the back door. That is where the Supreme Court should come in to avert judgments which Justice Mohammed said “cast your lordships in an unfavorable light and leave the judiciary at the mercy of innuendos, crass publications and editorials”

  • Before the verdicts (2)

    moseyn Ekiw sighs at the mention of the inability of his opponent to conduct forensic examination of the ballot papers. That would have revealed a lot, he said to himself. Goats voted. Cows thumb-printed in his favour; and gorillas played their parts. In several instances, an individual thumb-printed 1,000 times each. These are secrets better kept than revealed.

    Leunamme cuts through his thought: “There is something I need to read to you.”

    “What is that?”

    “It is a story on what happened at the tribunal on the third day when you began calling witnesses…”

    “As reported by…”

    “The Country, of course…”

    “Okay, go ahead.”

    Leunamme begins reading the report: “The headline is: ‘Dismissed DSS officer, pastor struggle at Waters Tribunal, contradict statements with improbable stories’. And the story goes thus:’ Manuel Hilips, a former officer of the Department of State Security (DSS), who was discharged from service, came to the Waters State Elections Petitions Tribunal claiming he provided security in 10 local governments during the last election.

    ‘Hilips, who was a second respondent defence witness, came with very unlikely tales about how he supervised the men and officers who patrolled nearly a dozen local governments in less than 24 hours. He compounded his dubious stories with his claim that he covered all these far-flung villages and towns with just a Hilux vehicle, and not even a helicopter in only one day.

    ‘But, what Mr. Hilips didn’t tell the court was that he was not in charge of the elections on April 11. Koba Mayn was the Director of State Security Service on election day. He is senior in rank to Mr Hilips and was the person who deployed men on the day. Hilips reported to him and did not go out alone. On the only occasion that Mr Hilip went out, it was in company of Mayn and they both toured the capital city.

    ‘Hilips, who was forcefully retired by the DSS along with 13 other officers earlier this year, did not have any item to identify himself as a former staff of the DSS. He was shocked with the story of his dismissal revealed by the lead counsel to the petitioner.

    ‘Under cross-examination, Hilips recanted when he was shown documents of the EC, which clearly revealed the damage violence and multiple voting did in the areas he allegedly covered.

    ‘Similarly, Pastor Selach Rubber of the Gospel without Truth Ministry came with the same burden of fraudulence to the witness box where he was again reminded of how he was dismissed from his former church, Better Evangelism Church, for being a liar. Rubber, who said he was accredited with the card reader, surprisingly told the tribunal that he could not say the same of any other person because he did not pay attention to the accreditation of other voters.

    ‘Another pathetic witness was Nosmas Pesoj  who claimed to have voted at Unit 2, Ward 7 but he refused to identify his passport, claiming like others before him, that he could not read the document because he was not the author. But to his surprise, EC’s report showed no ballot paper was issued throughout his ward. In addition, 508 people allegedly voted when the voters register had only 501.

    ‘One witness who provided ample comedy yesterday was May Manueljack. He had narrated the usual storyline of how voting took place and how results were announced. He later developed cold feet when he was asked to recall the figures he heard at the polling unit when results were announced. Also when he was asked to identify his photograph in Exhibit 226/5, he declined and insisted that he could not see it well because it was not coloured.”

    There is silence for two seconds.

    “That is the end of it,” Leunamme says.

    “Between you and I, the report is right but it looks like something beyond the reporter. He must have been assisted by my opponent to really put what happened that day in proper context…”

    “In a matter of days, we will know our fate. If the verdicts go against us, we should not just give up easily. We should fight up to the Appeal Court before subjecting ourselves to fresh polls. If possible, we should look for excuse to even drag the matter to the Supreme Court. That way, we buy more time and weaken our opponents. Make them finish their personal funds, while we spend government cash to defend our stolen mandates,” Leunamme says.

    “Another thing we can do is to make as much noise as possible in the media, especially the social media. We need to blackmail the government at the centre. Make the President feel bad. Accuse him of deploying security apparatchik to the advantage of our opponents. Just throw as much mud as possible on him. I have a feeling that because of his military past, he is trying to look like a born-again democrat. If the noise is too much, it may just work things our way…”

    “But, what really happened to your attempt to see the Chief Justice?”

    “My brother, na wa o! That stupid reporter just blew my cover. Who knows may be that would have worked some magic and I would have benefitted from another kind of Goodluck charm. But, that reporter just finished me and The Country and others joined with front page reports and editorials. With all these, the Chief Justice will not even have anything to do with me…”

    “My brother, I think we should go and sleep, even though we murdered sleep by coming to power through fraud. But, still we must make the best of the bad situation we have found ourselves.  We must never say never. We must fight till there is no strength again. That is the hallmark of a man…”

    “I agree with you my brother,” Ekiw cuts in, “Sleep tight dear soul mate.”

    Ekiw returns to the Louis XIII wine, takes some sip and sleep soon comes. One hour after, he wakes up panting. He had a dream.

    In the dream, he was told to change his ways. To give his life to Christ or risk rotting in hellfire. He was shown what it looks like to be in hellfire. He saw men and women groaning in unimaginable pains. They were crying and he was made to understand that many of those groaning had been that way for years and it made sense to him that death is actually the beginning of life. It could be the beginning of good life or the beginning of life of torture. He was told to make a choice. He made no choice before he jumped out of bed.

    Looking at it now, he weighs his options and after serious considerations, he convinces himself that there is nothing special about the dream. It is ordinary and should not be accorded any special meaning, he tells himself.

    He also convinces himself that there is no need to worry about the hereafter when he is yet to fully enjoy the paradise that is on earth. He thinks of calling his wife who is in the United Kingdom with the children. But he advises himself against it. Even though she has been playing along, she really is not out for the horror that this whole quest has been. Calling his eldest daughter is also not an option. He remembers her reaction when there was a report that he sponsored thugs to beat up party members who were against his bid for the governorship ticket.

    This is a cross he has to bear alone and they all will enjoy if he succeeds, he tells himself. But he also tells himself that the signs are ominous. Yes, he has tried by buying even serving security agents to lie against the institution they represent but still he admits that there are just too much documentary evidences that can make things turn against him.

    At this point, he remembers the words of Leunamme   that “we must never say never. We must fight till there is no strength again. That is the hallmark of a man”.

    He reaches for a drawer by the bed, searches out a pack of tramadol, gets a table water and takes two tablets. With the tramadol, he is sure sleep will soon come and nightmare most unlikely. Tomorrow will take care of itself, he tells himself before the tramadol knocks him off.

  • Before the verdicts (1)

    Before the verdicts (1)

    The sallah break is a soothing balm for His Excellency Chief Moseyn Ekiw. The last few weeks have been hot. The vibes from the tribunal hearing the petition filed against his election by Dr. Ukukad Sidepeter have not been encouraging. Things appear to be falling apart. Matters are made worse by the fact that his opponents are winning the media war. He has done everything possible, including abusing and blackmailing media owners; yet their support base has refused to shift. Even his attempts to write his own versions of unfolding events have not helped. Only TIA Television is sympathetic and down in his spirit, he knows only a fraction of the society still takes the station serious when the matter at hand concerns the party governing at the centre.

    Time is 2.m. Sleep simply refuses to come. As governor of Waters State, his apartment is almost second to none. It is comfort at its best. But when the heart is troubled, comfort cannot manufacture peace of mind. So, he takes solace sitting in his tastefully-furnished bedroom. A bottle of Louis XIII wine, which costs at least £5,000 or some N1,500,000, stands majestically on a side stool. A portion of it is in a golden tumbler in his left hand. He sips from it from time to time and each time he does that, his eyes light up and in times past, he would have silently said to himself: “This is the life!”

    Of particular concern to him are the testimonies of security agents and key members of staff to the Electoral Commission (EC), which practically revealed his declaration as governor a fraud. Thinking about it now gives him headache. His stomach rumbles and he drops the glass cup in his hand.

    As he surveys his room, his eyes fall on a pile of newspapers. He stands up and takes a few and returns to his seat. The one on top is The Country, which he likes describing as a rag-sheet despite the fact that year-in, year-out, industry professionals keep declaring it ‘Newspaper of the Year’ and his reporters keep scooping all the important journalism awards in Niagra and on the continent.

    On the second page is a story on one of those who ran against him in the last election. Its headline reads: “Ekiw‘ll be thrown out soon, says PDS governorship candidate.”

    He proceeds to read the content:   “The governorship candidate of the Party Democratic Social (PDS) for the April 11th governorship election in Waters State, Rev. Harry Ibim, has said Governor Chief Moseyn Ekiw will be thrown out soon.

    Ibim, who is at the Appeal Court challenging his petition against Ekiw, which was struck out on technical grounds by tribunal sitting in the FCT, described Ekiw as a temporary governor leading an interim government that will end soon.

    “The PDS governorship candidate spoke yesterday while briefing his supporters in Port Harcourt on the need to get ready on a re-run election in Waters State, adding that he is hopeful that tribunal will nullify the election.

    “He said Governor Ekiw seized power through violence, rigging and corruption, which he claimed led to the death of innocent citizens in the state who came out to cast their votes.

    “He noted that he headed to the Appeal Court not because he has a lot of money to waste, but on the principle that violence and corruption should not be the right way to win an election in a civilised society like Waters State.

    “Ekiw will be thrown out soon; desperate politicians put their personal gain before the interest of the state. Peace will continue to elude the people of the state.  We need leaders who will not use our young people as instruments of violence for their selfish gain.”

    If Ibim were anywhere near, Ekiw will go physical on him. He drops The Country and picks Spectator. His eyes settle on a story obviously marked out for his attention by his media aide with a red ink pen. It is from Sidepeter’s party.

    The headline reads: “Likely rerun: UPP’s Hutem, Ekiw daydreaming, says Waters CPA.” Before he decides to read further, a text comes on his phone. He grabs it and reads. It is one of those several unsolicited messages from service providers. He hisses.

    He continues with the story: “The Waters State chapter of the Congress Progressives All (CPA) has described as daydreaming the statement of the National Publicity Secretary of the Umbrella Peoples Party (UPP), Chief Asilo Hutem that Governor Moseyn Ekiw will win a likely rerun governorshp election in the state.

    “CPA, in a statement, noted that Ekiw was spending his last days in office as governor. Hutem, while reacting to the failure of the counsel and witnesses to the UPP and Electoral Commission (EC) to appear before the governorship election petitions tribunal in Abuja, boasted that in case of rerun poll in the state, Ekiw would still emerge victorious.

    “‘Even if our lawyers and witnesses did not appear at the tribunal in the remaining days, it does not stop us, from winning at the judgment. But should we fail at judgment, we shall win even above 1.5 million votes in the rerun governorship and other elections.’

    “CPA, however, stated that Hutem and his co-travellers in the UPP were free to delude themselves, but stressed that with defeat staring them in the face at the tribunal, the eventual rerun would be won by Dr. Sidepeter.

    “While we do not wish to comment on the likely outcome of the current sittings of the Governoship Election Petitions Tribunal, since the case is subjudice, we find Hutem’s position laughable, because the evidence before the tribunal indicates that Ekiw is spending his final days in office as governor.

    “Just like the UPP, we, as a political party, are equally eagerly looking forward to a rerun of the governorship election contrary to the empty boast of Hutem that UPP shall win even above 1.5 million votes in the envisaged rerun elections.

    “We make bold to tell him that the UPP died in Waters State the day our former governor, in November 2013, led all those who mattered in the party to join the CPA and take a front seat in the vanguard for Niagra’s political emancipation.

    “We are convinced that our candidate shall win the expected rerun governorship poll with a landslide, as he has the full support of the people.

    “Instead of dreaming of winning the envisaged rerun election, we expect Ekiw to explain to the world how he intends to defend the over 100 people that were murdered to install him as the Caretaker Governor by the greedy Dame and other corrupt EC officials, who cannot defend their immoral and illegal action of declaring 1.5 million acclaimed voters.

    “To us, the Biblical book of Hosea Chapter 8, Verse 7: ‘For they have sown the wind and shall reap the whirlwind,’ captures the inescapable fate of Ekiw and his collaborators.”

    He has had enough of these bad news. So, he drops the newspapers and before a thought forms on his mind, his phone rings.

    “Who is finding it difficult to sleep like me?” He asks before picking up the call.

    The caller ID reveals that on the other end is Modu Leunamme, the governor of Abasi State.

    Ekiw picks the call and says: “My brother.”

    “Good morning, bros,” Leunamme, a former bank top executive drafted into politics by the outgoing governor of Abasi State, replies.

    “Hope all is well? This one that you are calling me at this time…”

    “I am calling so that we can discuss how things will be well with the Daniel about to come to judgment in our cases at the tribunals. You know we share a common fate. We are both governors and we know more than anybody else that we did not get the status on merit. It was through fraud. The elections that we claimed to have won, as international and local observers have observed, were sham. They were a rape of democracy. I can admit that before you, but outside I will defend it and hide my shame…”

    Ekiw cuts in: “I agree with you my brother, but it is not strange in our region. We have always written the results of elections in private homes. VIPs’ guest houses have always served us as collation centres and if we had done anything contrary, these men sweeping everywhere in the country with broom would have taken over our states. Now, it seems the senior advocates have drained us and not much is being achieved…”

    “Your case seems worse than mine with all those security people and EC officials coming to testify for CPA. They could not get all that in our case. I am only afraid of the forensic that they did, which you were able to prevent…”

     

    • To be continued