Nobody is above the law…..Goniri

Should ADR be used to resolve election matters? Generally speaking ADR is the best form of resolving crisis and that has been agreed upon by judges , lawyers, jurists and academia as the best form of resolving crisis for many reasons. First, it is cost effective, it is less time consuming, it is less stressful […]

Should ADR be used to resolve election matters?
Generally speaking ADR is the best form of resolving crisis and that has been agreed upon by judges , lawyers, jurists and academia as the best form of resolving crisis for many reasons.
First, it is cost effective, it is less time consuming, it is less stressful and it makes the environment serene and peaceful. It would appear as if you are discussing matters as against the court setting where it would appear as if people are fighting.
However the effectiveness of ADR in resolving political matters will depend on the heart of politicians. Most of the political cases in court are politically motivated not that some of them have good cases but they just want to make sure that their opponent do not have peace in his government. They make sure that they disturb him till the time they could not do it any longer. So you find that the petitions are thrown out because they are frivolous petitions. For this reason
ADR can only work if we are ready for it. It is for this reason that politicians should accept defeat. This is one of the major problems we are facing in Nigeria. Politicians do not accept defeat and once we do not accept defeat even if we go to ADR we would still have the same problem. You always want to win at all cost hence such a person cannot submit to ADR, unless we are ready as politicians to do things peacefully and with sincerity of purpose.

Should the governorship election petitions terminate at the Court of Appeal or at the Supreme Court?
As it is now it is only the governorship elections that pass through three stages. The presidential election will start up at the Court of Appeal and end at the Supreme Court. The National Assembly (NASS) and State Houses of Assembly election will start up at the Tribunal and end up at the Court of Appeal. Ironically, the governorship election will start up from the Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and end up at the Supreme Court. One can hardly understand what is logical about subjecting the governorship petition to three stages. There may be a reason but nobody has told us. Is the governorship election bigger? How about the presidential election? Or is it smaller? How about the NASS and the State Houses of Assembly? It ought to have gone through two stages and that has always been the case. I don’t know why the governorship election petition has to be tested through three stages.

What is your reaction to the clash between the Army and the Shiites in Zaria?
There are so many stories. Some people who were eye witness said that the sect blocked a road while the  Chief of Army Staff (COAS) was passing. If it is so,  then it is  unfortunate. That means ordinary Nigerians when passing that road would completely be deprived. But having said that,  we have to be very careful about handling issues like this.
We have the experience of Yusuf sect which is popularly known as Boko Haram, that sect was caused because of the negligence of the relevant authorizes at that time, as there was no adequate investigation or security report of the potential threat of that group. Whatever happened that is now a problem not only to Yobe State, or to Nigeria but it has become an international problem. So this issue of Shiite has to be handles very carefully. There is no reason to deny the COAS or any Nigerian the right of passage. At the same time people said that the reaction of the military was not proportionate. If there is provocation, the reaction should be proportionate and it should not be like the injury that was inflicted. A lawless country is a hopeless country. We have to obey our laws. Nobody is above the law.

Is Yobe a lawyers friendly state?                                                                                                                   
We have more than 60 lawyers in my chamber the only challenge we have is that of security. The security situation did not allow our lawyers acquire some techniques especially going to courts like the High Court, the Magistrate Court and the Court of Appeal.
We have made deliberate efforts to send our lawyers to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to observe proceeding whether we have a case or not. We have buses for lawyers.

What about salaries and other allowances?
Since I came in there was no time when salaries have not been paid. We also take care of the other allowances.