Fighting presidential election battles through judiciary

The role of the judiciary in the interpretation and correct application of the law has long been held as vital lubricant in the wheels of any democratic society. In Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, the courts have been unwittingly drawn into the mire of political battles waged in some instances for selfish reasons.As the country prepares for […]

The role of the judiciary in the interpretation and correct application of the law has long been held as vital lubricant in the wheels of any democratic society. In Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, the courts have been unwittingly drawn into the mire of political battles waged in some instances for selfish reasons.
As the country prepares for the 2015 general elections, some of the political gladiators, who lost in the various political parties primaries, have sought justice from the courts. Thus, there are over 200 political suits filed in the various courts nation-wide, according to Mr Charles Odenigbo, a media consultant.
Of the various suits challenging the outcome of the governorship and national and state assembly primaries, the majority of the litigants are either of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the main opposition All Progressive Congress (APC).
There are several suits pending in the courts seeking to thwart the candidacy of the two frontline presidential candidates of the two political parties: PDP and APC for the March 28 Presidential election.
At the last count, four suits are in court for the disqualification of President Jonathan from the presidential election. This is aside the suit recently stuck out by a Federal High Court in Kaduna brought by one Shuaibu Lili seeking to bar Jonathan from contesting the 2015 presidential election.
A similar suit by Mrs Mase Daphine Acho, Mr. Sarki Umar Saddik and Mr. Murtala Abubakar was stalled after it was in September, 2014 filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order to disqualify Jonathan from the election after he was endorsed the PDP as its sole candidate.
However, four prominent people namely Professor Tunde Samuel, Dr Junaidu Mohammed, Mr Rasak Adeogun and Yahaya Ezeemoo Ndu are before an FCT High Court with an application to disqualify President Jonathan from contesting the elections.
The suit brought on their behalf by seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria and four other lawyers led by Yusuf Ali (SAN) want a declaration that by the combined provisions of Sections 135 to 146 of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan is not eligible to contest for the election having taking oath of office as president more than twice.
Also on January 28, the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), one of the parties in the 2015 general elections filed an action against President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP before a Federal High court seeking their disqualification from participating in the presidential election.
In the suit by its counsel Okechukwu Ehogwu, HDPand one Alhaji Haruna Yahaya Saba are contending that Jonathan is not qualified to stand for the next Presidential election having been elected into the office of the President in the two previous elections in 2007 and 2011.
Similarly, the Appeal Court in Abuja is set to resume hearing in the suit filed by a member of the PDP Cyracus Njoku challenging Jonathan’s eligibility in presidential election.
This is after the Supreme Court in December 2014 dismissed an appeal by a PDP chieftain in Adamawa State, Umar Ardo challenging the Appeal Court’s refusal of his application to join in the suit by Njoku.
Njoku in turn is challenging the dismissal of his earlier suit in March 2013 that Jonathan is ineligible to contest the 2015 general elections by Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi (then of the FCT High Court) on the grounds that Jonathan was serving his first term having been elected to the office for the first time on April 16, 2011.
“No election or bye election was conducted after the death of President Umar Yar’Adua. He was merely asked to assume the office. The National Assembly adopted the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’. He was not elected but made to assume same. Having exhausted the unexpired tenure, he sought and obtained the ticket of the PDP as Presidential candidate, contested and won the 2011 presidential election”, the judge ruled.
After two politicians Olatoye Wahab and Adejumo Ajagbe applied to a Federal High Court in Abuja to refer to the Appeal Court for interpretation, Justice Ahmed Mohammed on the court on February 9 transferred the suit to Appeal Court.
Their application is seeking judicial interpretation of Section 135 (1) (2) and (2A) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria with respect to Jonathan holding the office of the President for a period exceeding the eight years from the date of his first oath-taking.
On their part, pro-Jonathan groups are also in various courts seeking an order disqualifying the APC presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari from contesting the presidential election as the legal battles began after the resumption of the courts following a three-week strike embarked by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
A new twist was added to the anti-Buhari cases, when a group, the Northern Coalition for Democracy and Justice (NCDJ) in February said it has obtained fresh evidence to charge Buhari at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for “orchestrating” the 2011 post-election violence in some parts of Northern of Nigeria.
In a statement by its secretary for research and documentation, Ibrahim Baba, the group said it was compelled to “sustain the process for the prosecution of Mr. Buhari” which it claimed to have been instituted at the The Hague in May 2011, “for his role that orchestrated the 2011 post-election violence in some parts of the North.”
Similarly, some activists: Shield Jones Ufot, Jimmy David, Ogueri Enwerem and Tochukwu Okorie filed an application before an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court for criminal prosecution of Buhari for alleged forgery and perjury over his West African School Leaving Certificate (WASC).
On January 30, 2015, another group, the National Coalition for Good Governance (NACOGG) comprising Jamilu Aliyu, Chizoba Iwe, and Hajia Zainab Mohammed filed a suit in an FCT High Court to disqualify Buhari from the presidential race over the lingering certificate controversy.
Earlier, an Abuja-based lawyer Chukwunweike Okafor had  approached an Abuja Federal High Court for special hearing on the eligibility of Buhari to contest the presidential election for failing to comply with Section 131 of the 1999 Constitutional “which prescribes a minimum qualification for nomination to participate in presidential elections.”
Okafor anchored his action on the provisions of Section 31(5) of the Electoral Act that allows “a person that has reasonable grounds to believe that false information has been given by a candidate in his Affidavit or document submitted to INEC, in support of his nomination Form, to approach the Court for the candidate to be disqualified.”
On February 2, the Federal High Court in Abuja received another suit by a lawyer Max Ozoaka, who is seeking the disqualification of Buhari from the presidential election for failing to fulfill the requirements in INEC Form 001.
In another development, a Bayelsa-based consultant, Ayakeme Whiskey has gone to an Abuja Federal High Court seeking an order declaring Buhari ineligible to contest the presidential election on the grounds that the document he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Form CF001 did not “show evidence of school certificate, whether first or secondary school.”
In an affidavit, Whiskey averred that the omission rendered Buhari ineligible to participate in the poll since he did not comply with the provisions of sections 131 and 318 of the 1999 Constitution and section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
As the campaign trail of the political parties keeps surging with supporters, the citizens look up to the judiciary to apply the law for a just resolution of any dispute that are expected to arise from the elections to deepen the country’s democratic process.
Speaking on the enormous challenge faced by the judiciary during the elections, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed while inaugurating Election Appeal Tribunal judges, warned judges not to compromise their responsibility to the country.
It will be recalled that some elements, headed by Chief Arthur Nzeribe, on the platform of infamous Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), through the instrumentality of court was used to annul the 1993 general election, thus aborting the Third Republic and throwing the country into a deep and prolonged crisis.
Circumstances like this, Mr Clement Nwankwo, a human rights activist and leader of the Situation Room says would not be repeated.
“It is important to mention that any act of judicial rascality that plunges this country into violence and mass destruction opens such a judicial officer up for war crimes charges,” he says.