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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Over 1,000 angry protesters, yesterday, besieged the Supreme Court to register their displeasure over the judgment of Court of Appeal in Abuja, which sacked four members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, from the National Assembly, based on a pre-election dispute.
The groups under the aegis of Coalition for Justice in Africa (CJA) submitted a protest letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola.
They said the appellate court’s judgment thwarted the Plateau State electorate’s wish when it declared candidates that lost the National Assembly elections that held on February 25, as winners of the legislative seats.
After submitting the protest letter to the CJN, the CJA spokesperson, Daniel Okwa, told newsmen that the judgment of the appellate court was capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in the state.
The groups, which alleged that the judgments of the court that removed all the PDP federal lawmakers were influenced by some chieftains of All Progressives Congress (APC) called on the CJN to intervene.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice believes the judgment of the Appeal Court in Abuja is a case of injustice, else, how could one explain a situation where lawmakers of APC would boast and predict the outcome of the Court of Appeal judgment even before the pronouncement.
“This is unacceptable and indicates that the justice regime in Nigeria has been thrown to the dogs. What happened in Plateau State is an aberration of immeasurable proportion. There is a distinction between a pre-election matter and a post-election matter.
“The Supreme Court has established this fact on several occasions. It is now a wonder why the Appeal Court would act otherwise and in a despicable manner that tends to truncate our nascent democracy.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice entirely condemns the actions of the justices of the Appeal Court that sat in Abuja. They displayed insensitivity to the electoral choices of the people. This is a worrisome trend that the CJN must address.
“This is on the heels that the judiciary, the world over, is regarded as the last hope of the commoner. This presupposes that it is the only place, the commoner can get justice. The function of the judiciary is not to twist the truth or fabricate facts but to interpret the law. The consequence of the interpretation of the law is justice.
However, what played out in Plateau State negates the judiciary’s position as the common’s last hope. The judiciary is for sale to the highest bidder in Nigeria, if such positions could be taken without recourse to the implication of such on the psychological state of the people.
“The Coalition for Truth and Justice is using this protest to drive the point that justice in Nigeria should not be reserved for a section of the country or any political party. What happened in Plateau should not be allowed to stand or repeat itself. The implication of such is that the reputation of the judicial would be eroded.”
The appellate court had, on November 7, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, led by Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, okayed the nullification of the election of a senator and three members of the House of Representatives in the state that emerged on the platform of the PDP.
The panel based its decision on failure of the PDP to fully comply with a court that was made in 2022, which it said directed the party to conduct congress in the 17 local government areas in the state.
