The court is not like the open market

It is trite that justice delayed is justice denied, but speed must be commensurate to a fair trial. Any law setting time limit for a judicial process is only to be accepted with great trepidation and suspicion, as it may be repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. The Sokoto State Governorship Election Petition […]

It is trite that justice delayed is justice denied, but speed must be commensurate to a fair trial. Any law setting time limit for a judicial process is only to be accepted with great trepidation and suspicion, as it may be repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.

The Sokoto State Governorship Election Petition case is of no difference with any other case that goes to court for verdict of dispute between parties. It is highly regrettable that the judicial decision of the Supreme Court to save the nation’s jurisprudence from anarchy is being misconstrued. This is politically and socially absurd and it portends danger for our nascent democracy.

The Sokoto State Governorship Election case can never be considered as endless legal dogfight as insinuated by a certain Demola Abinboye in his article “Endless Dogfight”. For the proper grasp of the focus of this write up, it is imperative to do a synopsis of the events leading to one of the protracted election matters in the history of this country.

We would recall that the Lower Election Tribunal abiniton, dismissed the petitioner’s petition. He used his constitutional right to ventilate his right of appeal and consequently appealed to the Court of Appeal in Kaduna. The court there delivered its judgement and ordered for a re-run election within 90 days between the parties who participated in the main election.

A winner emerged by majority votes. Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The petitioner, Alhaji Mohammed Dingyadi, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in the administration of Attahiru Bafarawa, rushed to the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek various declarative and injunctive orders principally against Gov Wamakko and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) perhaps because he was scared of a re run.

Before the verdict of the Federal High Court could be delivered, an Election Petition Tribunal was constituted. Dingyadi rushed to the Election Tribunal with a principal relief “declaring him a winner”while the matter was subsisting in the Election Tribunal. The Federal High Court in Abuja gave its ruling declining jurisdiction. He appealed to the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

Within this span, Sokoto Election Petition Tribunal deservedly dismissed the suit. He rushed to the Court of Appeal Sokoto and while appeal against the decision of the Federal High Court subsisted at Court of Appeal Abuja, Dingaydi headed for the Supreme Court on an interlocutory appeal .

How on earth would we expect the Supreme Court, being a court of policy, to stay and watch our jurisprudence being torpedoed with impunity just to please the ego of a journalist? Politicians should know that we can no longer use our courts as football pitches or a perfect market for free entry and free exit.

Mrs Rabi Suleman Usmanu, Danfodio University, Sokoto