Minority Caucus Faults Appeal Court Judgement

By Oduyemi Odumade

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has condemned the judgement of the justices of Appeal Court in both Kaduna and Plateau states.

In a statement in Abuja, Leader of the caucus, Kingsley Chinda notes that the recent judgments of the Appeal Court which removed opposition lawmakers from Plateau and Kaduna states in the House erodes public interest and calls to question the impartiality of the judiciary.

“We were shocked that the Justices of the Appeal Court delivered judgements that are not only conflicting but negates proven and established legal precedence.

“With due respect to the justices, the grounds on which the Justices reached their judgments are totally unacceptable and unlawful. The obvious illogic which characterised the judgments falls short of our constitutional and electoral jurisprudence.”

Chinda says despite the well established jurisprudence on pre-election matters, “the justices decided to side-track, neglect, and jettison established precedents clearly and explicitly delivered by the Supreme Court.

“It is not only sad and painful but shameful that the justices, in their warped wisdom, gave such patently prejudiced and inconsistent judgements without respect for existing substantive and procedural law.”

The minority leader insists that since there are many pronouncements by the Supreme Court on pre-election and similar issues, it is binding on all parties.

Chinda notes that having laid this very necessary background, one could safely conclude that the actions and decisions of the justices in Plateau and Kaduna states are a travesty, and calls to question the time-tested and serially-proven attributes of the judiciary as an impartial, responsive and transparent body.

He emphasises that the conflicting judgements are insensitive, repulsive, and tantamount to gross abuse of judicial process.

According to him, in May 2023, in the PDP versus Kashim Shettima case, the Supreme Court, in dismissing the appeal, ruled that, “you cannot challenge a political party over structure even if it does not have the structure.

He says the Supreme Court dismissed the Allied Peoples Mandate’s suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission on the same ground. In October 2023, the Appeal Court, in strict adherence to established jurisprudence, dismissed a matter by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for a House of Representatives seat in Borno state against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The minority leader says Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme in her lucid and clear judgement held that the appropriate place to challenge the nomination, sponsorship and qualification of a candidate is the High Court, not Tribunal or Appeal Court or any other Court.

While expressing worry about the implications of the conflicting judgements by the appeal court justices, Chinda declared that, if left unchecked and promptly not addressed, it might have far-reaching impact on the judiciary and democracy in Nigeria.

“This would discredit, portray and give the judiciary a very negative image. The trust and impartiality character of the judiciary would be completely eroded. These anomalies would not only call to question our values as a people and country but may have negative effects on the growth and deepening of democracy,” he adds”.

Edited By Grace Namiji