Jonathan to judiciary: Your verdicts on political cases may derail democracy

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has berated the judiciary over judgements  emanating from various courts  in recent times, saying they were capable of derailing the nation’s democracy.

The former Nigerian leader spoke Thursday at the 67th birthday celebration of a legal luminary, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, in Abuja, saying judgements, especially on political cases, were worrisome. 

The ex-president said a particular judgement that got him worried was that Supreme Court’s decision that a ward chairman of a political party could suspend its national chairman. 

Jonathan said: “The way things are going in this country, especially listening to the judgments being given regarding political cases, we are beginning to see that democracy in Nigeria is like a cone that is being turned upside down.  

“And if a cone is turned upside down it cannot be stable and at the slightest perturbation, it will fall. When I listened to some senior lawyers like Olisa Agbakoba making comments on some Supreme Court’s judgments, I felt very sad that the country has got to that level.

“If our democracy will endure, people, both at the Bar and the Bench, should not be carried away by political influence. That is the only way we can stabilise the political process.

“I know the lawyers enjoy it because after elections there is always an avalanche of litigation, because it is like Christmas for lawyers.

“But in most other countries, people don’t go to court, but in Nigeria,  pre-election matters and post-election matters fill all the courts and it does not give a good sign for democracy.

“Comparing Nigeria to other African countries and those outside Africa, because I have been able to get involved in their electoral processes, it worries me.”

Dwelling on specifics, the former president said: “There is a particular judgment that has been haunting me and I need to mention that, luckily, I am not a lawyer, I am saying that from a layman view, it (the judgment) simply turned the cone upside down and if the courts don’t look back into this case, it will create so much instability in the political system that it would affect all of us.

“Those who would have succeeded, their victory song will not last long, because we will all be victims. Where the court says a Ward Chairman can expel a National Chairman of a political party. This is not in line with natural justice. The law is to control human behaviour and human behaviour must follow how God created systems. 

“And, you cannot tell me that the Head of Department in a university, for example, can expel the Vice Chancellor. So, how can the Nigerian law tell me that a Ward Chairman can expel a national officer of a political party?

“And, since that judgment has been given, as at today, it has created all kinds of instability in the party. PDP is in crisis because of that judgment. APC, at a time, was also into crisis because of that judgment.

“I am not looking at it from a legal perspective, because I don’t know anything about the law. But when I look at how nature works, I have never seen a system where its sub-unit can discipline the top.” 

“For the PDP exactly, in the constitution of the PDP, if you are a national officer, even your state cannot discipline you, not to talk about a Ward officer, who is not a member of the NEC, the National Executive Council.

“And we are saying that a Ward Chairman of a party can suspend and expel the National Chairman of a political party.  I am appealing with the Supreme Court to revisit their judgment, because that judgment has turned the cone upside down and the political process, the democracy, is wobbling.”

On the celebrator, Jonathan said he wrote the foreword of one of the 50 books written and presented at the event by Ozekhome.

…Mild drama

He said former President Olusegun Obasanjo would not want to delve into the issue he raised about the nation’s judiciary and recent judgements.

A mild drama had earlier ensued when Obasanjo dragged Jonathan to the podium.

Just as the organisers of the event invited Obasanjo for his remarks as the occasion’s chairman, he took Jonathan along and unilaterally pronounced him as the co-chairman.

And making his speech, Obasanjo praised Ozekhome, describing him as “an extraordinary man” and “a radical.”

He said: “Mike is a person who advocates for thorough or complete positive change with conviction, courage, and integrity. “That is the man that we have come to honour.”

And upon completing his short remarks, Obasanjo yielded the floor to Jonathan, the co-chairman.

But before the duo left the podium, Obasanjo, who took back the microphone, said, “I know that former President Jonathan said that I would not want to say anything. But, I want to say that there is much to say and it is not yet time for it.”

…Obi, Ozekhome

Also speaking, the Labour Party (LP)’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, praised Ozekhome on his fight for a just and egalitarian society, urging him not to stop.   

Reviewing the 50 books, a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), commended Ozekhome’s intellectual brilliance and patriotic zeal.

Blueprint reports that the collection covers a wide range of disciplines such as law, politics, and philosophy.

The event had in attendance legal giant, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), a host of other top-placed Nigerians, especially from the  Bar, friends and relations.

…IPAC

 Also expressing similar worry like Jonathan, the National Chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, described the issuance of orders and counter orders, judgements and conflicting judgements by courts of coordinate jurisdiction as appalling. 

Dantalle spoke Thursday at the quarterly consultative meeting organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

The IPAC leader who said this in relation to election disputes, said: “The Commission’s elections may not be perfect; they are far better and credible than the charades showcased by SIECs acting as rubber stamps of the governors who appointed them. IPAC is aware of crises in some political parties and inflammatory statements by politicians and public office holders that tend to overheat the polity. 

 “We re-emphasise the call on parties to always adhere strictly to their respective constitution and internal democracy. Council appeals to political leaders to also explore IPAC’s Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism (ADR) to address the protracted leadership disagreements in some political parties as enshrined in its Code of Conduct. 

 “As political Leaders, we must cultivate and promote the culture of resolving our own internal disputes as evidence of leadership capability; rather than over reliance on the Judiciary. 

 “It is time we stop using the judiciary to make a mockery of our hard-earned democracy. The issuance of orders and counter orders, judgements and conflicting judgements by courts of coordinate jurisdiction are appalling, as if justice is for sale. Enough of these provocative Judicial somersaults that have made mockery of our emerging democracy. 

“This is also a wakeup call for urgent judicial reform that will sanction and flush out corrupt Judicial officers and restore the court as the Temple of Justice and the last hope of all aggrieved people.”

 ..Calls for scrapping of SIECs

Dantalle also reiterated IPAC’s demand for the scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), saying, “the sham called elections they conduct are deliberate assault on the nation’s democracy. 

He further said: “Council will not fold its hand and allow this glaring perversion  of the democratic process to continue. It is not just a coronation of the candidates of a ruling party in the state, it is daylight robbery of people’s votes and mandates for chairmanship and councillorship positions. 

“In place of SIECs, the Council proposes that INEC should conduct all Local Government elections in Nigeria as it does for federal and state elections. There is no need to create another body to conduct Local Government polls. 

“The National Assembly should not dissipate energy and resources in establishing any Local Government electoral commission, instead it should strengthen INEC to conduct all elections in the country.”