From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
An Independent Judicial Accountability Panel (IJAP) has warned politicians to avoid undue influence on the nation’s judiciary while faulting the Supreme Court over its judgment on the political crisis in Rivers State.
The 11-member group, whose membership comprises three retired justices, further tasked judicial officers to be mindful of their oath of office at all times.
The chairman of the panel, Mojeed Owoade, a retired Justice of the Court of Appeal, stated this at the inaugural meeting of the group in Abuja.
Justice Owoade (rtd) specifically expressed concerns that the Supreme Court judgment on appeals emanating from legal disputes in Rivers State descended into live issues.
It said that, having carried out an exhaustive analysis of some recent cases of public interest, the judgment of the Supreme Court in the consolidated appeals left a gap as to whether the issue of the alleged defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly is still alive or has been settled.
The Independent Judicial Accountability Panel further noted that the apex court made comments on the issue of defection without actually addressing it, stressing that even though the Supreme Court had nothing before it, as of the time of the judgment, to establish that the 27 lawmakers were no longer bona fide members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the Supreme Court ought not to have commented on the issue at all since there were pending litigations on the matter.
The panel ruled out the possibility of any of the parties filing an application for judicial review of the judgment on the case since the Supreme Court has become functus officio in the matter.
In the words of the panel: “Complex and lengthy judgments of courts defy easy comprehension and therefore undermine public trust.”
The panel urged governments at all levels to obey court orders and respect the fundamental rights of citizens in a democracy, and decried that over nine months after the ECOWAS Court awarded damages to victims of the October 2020 EndSARS protest, the Federal Government had yet to comply with the judgment.
It further said: “IJAP recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria obey orders not only of our domestic courts but also those of international courts, in line with its obligations under various treaties.
“Citizens should show more interest and get involved in activities that hold the judiciary and other government agencies accountable.
“The media should be more courageous, factual, and non-partisan in investigating and reporting the role of the judiciary in our democracy,” it emphasised.
Other members of the panel included retired Justices of the Court of Appeal, Justices Chinwe Iyizoba and Oludotun Adefope-Okojie, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, Prof. Jummai Audi, Barr. Sechap A. Tsokwa, Andrew Mamedu, Judith Gbagidi, Barr. Funmi Olukeye, Mr. Mac Imoni Amarere, and Celestine Okwudili.
The panel is a fallout of an expanded project that ActionAid Nigeria and Citizens’ Led Engagement on Judicial Accountability in Post-Election Justice Delivery in Nigeria (CLEAP-Justice) have been implementing since July 2023.
The Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu, said the project had evolved into one that supports citizens’ actions towards judicial accountability.