Judicial Abuse By Yobe Candidate
By

Yusuf Abubakar

walerashid@yahoo.com

THE judiciary is so far confirmed by all and sundry as the defender of democracy and the rule of law. Many landmark judgements saved democracy from collapse. But some politicians in Yobe state are abusing the process.


Abuse of judicial process is a conduct most judges frown at. In fact, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Idris Kutugi and his predecessors often impose sanctions. Some politicians in Yobe State have not learnt any lesson from this new regime of judicial discipline.


When the People Democratic Party (PDP) attempted a fresh suit in the case of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume already decided by the Supreme Court, it was promptly struck out on the ground that the fresh application constitutes an abuse of judicial process. The counsels were reprimanded that day. A very worrisome development which the judicial authority should take note of is the controversy over the gubernatorial candidacy of the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) in Yobe state.
An expelled member of the party, Senator Albishir who was also a former governorship aspirant of the party in the state is guilty of bare cased manipulation and abuse of judicial process. The National Judicial Council (NJC) and the highest court in the land should take note of the following  abuses which should not be allowed to continue. While it is right to seek judicial redress, it is unacceptable to play hide and seek with clearly stated judicial rules.


The first rule is that cases can be filed either in respondents or plaintiffs’ place of abode. It is not allowed for a case to be taken outside the abodes of the two stakeholders. Senator Al-Bishir breached this code by filling his case in Kaduna.
The judicial authority in that state should have rejected the application. Somehow against the directive of the new national leadership of the judiciary, manipulation ensured that hearing took place under the most unfair of circumstances.


The second breach is equally fundamental. The same case in substance and form already before a court of competent jurisdiction should not be taken to similar court of coordinate jurisdiction. What is allowed is an appeal from a lower to higher court. In this case, Al-Bishir filed the same case at three high courts in Abuja, Maiduguri and Kaduna. In each case, the Senator jumped from one court to the other once he discovered that the outcome is not likely to be favourable.
The senator first filed his case at an Abuja High Court on February 8th this year. On 19th February, he hurriedly filed a withdrawal and Justice Binta Nyako struck out the case. No convincing reason was adduced.


Suddenly, the Senator surfaced in Maiduguri and on February 21st, filed the same case before Justice Adamu Hobon at a Maiduguri High Court. The same case was the subject matter – An attempt to obtain a court order to stop his being replaced as ANPP guber candidate for the April 14th polls.


Justice Hobon in his ruling rejected the application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Senator. The judge noted that “nomination, sponsoring and changing candidates and submission of list of candidates the party proposes to sponsor to the  electoral body for elections is purely vested exclusively in political parties and never any other body.


“The court or the commission or any other body cannot question the decision of that political party. In fact, by Article 14.3 (IV) of the 2nd Defendant/Respondent’s “ANPP” Constitution, state congress of the party elects candidate for gubernatorial elections and any disagreement therefrom shall be referred to National Working Committee of the party and not to the court.
“And by Article 24.2 (X) there-off, filling an action in court of law against the party on any matter relating to the discharge of the duties of the party without first resorting to the avenues for adjudication provides for in its constitution is an offence against the party and fair hearing contemplated means within the party avenues.


“This follows that since this application is rooted in the substantive case in which on the face of it, this court lacks jurisdiction to hear and grant any of the principal reliefs, the interlocutory application naturally fails by reasons of absence of jurisdiction in the court:, Justice Hobon noted in his final judgement.


The Senator’s failed bid in Maiduguri was with a drama as the case was filed secretly with the party unaware and with a counsel allegedly standing in for the party. Despite this antics, the Judge struck out the case’.


Then, Albishir rushed to Court of Appeal in Jos. Suddenly again, he withdrew the appeal and headed for Kaduna. Instead of going to the Court of Appeal, he went to the High Court to file the same case on which judgement has been delivered in Maiduguri.


The interlocutory injunction he failed to get from a Maiduguri High Court, he now controversially secured in Kaduna a day after Senator Mamman Ali, the party candidate and governor-elect applied to be joined. The NJC ought to probe the circumstance under which the injunction was granted.


Now, the third breach is that a matter in which a judgement has been delivered has been reopened in another court of equal jurisdiction. The Maiduguri judgement has not been vacated by any appeal court and the reasons it gave for the verdict remain the basis upon which the party leadership acted.


By going to Kaduna which was neither the plaintiffs nor the defendants’ abode to get a fresh judgement on a case already decided upon, Al-Bishir has not only abused Judicial process and ridicule the integrity of the courts, he has also rendered himself legally bound by the Maiduguri judgement which has not been upturned by any court of law.


Two judgement now exist. The first one is that of Maiduguri filed at the right place, heard in a normal court process and  with a judgement still subsisting. The second which came after that of Maiduguri is from the wrong place, under wrong jurisdictions and under abnormal proceedings and procedures.


The curious thing is that when attempt was made to upturn the illegal injunction due to its breach of rules of the court, a desperate attempt was made to sit on the appeal until a new court took over the case. Discharging the illegal order is a duty that need to be done to restore the integrity of the courts.


But what exactly is the former ANPP member trying to achieve by abusing the judicial process as clearly spelt out above? His argument was that the substitution of his name as the ANPP candidate was wrong and so the party should be restrained.
The Maiduguri judgement cleared this aspect as to the right of parties to sponsor candidates for positions and the need for aggrieved members to seek redress from the National Working Committee. That judgement subsists.


But there are matters arising from the above. Why was Al-Bushir dropped? Now the records are clear. The  parties have the right to ensure that all qualification criteria in the constitution are complied with. If and whenever the party discovered any short coming in the records of any candidate especially before election, substitution can be effected. The ANPP Constitution grants that authority to the  party leadership.


The second issue is about fair hearing. An aggrieved aspirant can dispute his or her substitution through a petition to the party’s National Working Committee – which will now conduct hearings and then give final ruling. That is what is called exploiting all internal remedies. As noted by the Maiduguri judgement, the penalty for not exhausting internal remedies is expulsion from the party.


In the case of Al-Bashir, he breached this rule and now stands expelled from the party. By not petitioning the working committee and by heading straight  to the courts after the substitution of his name as candidate, he complicated his own case and rendered his claim to the ANPP ticket null and void and without any legal foundation.


From the proceeding, the ANPP acted to safeguard its electoral interest. Doing otherwise would have amounted to allowing the PDP to grab the state through the election petition tribunals. And the judgement of the ANPP leadership was right. At the April 14 governorship race, Senator Ali who replaced Al-Bishir beat the PDP candidate by a very wide margin, leaving no one in doubt that he is truly the people’s choice.


Yes, the peoples’ choice. This is because what happened during the ANPP primary itself was a crime against democracy. Extreme intimidation,  assassination threats, camping of delegates outside Yobe State and extreme monetisation, all combined to produce a false winner. The primary would have been cancelled as it breached all rules of ANPP.


The reality is that it is hightime the abuse of judicial process by Yobe politicians stopped forthwith. The defeated PDP candidate, Adam Waziri almost turned himself into a court bailiff recently when he went on air to complain that the governor-elect has not made himself available for court service. Waziri ought to know what to do if Ali is not available in Damaturu and Potiskum.


In any case, is the former PTDF boss not aware that  the man who defeated him is still a serving Senator in Abuja. Incidentally, the day Waziri complained of court service was the second day when the Senate in which Ali is a strong member, cleared him (Waziri) and Obasanjo of wrongdoing in the PTDF mess. That was Waziri’s way of thanking Ali.


Many also thought Waziri should know that Ali is a member of the ECOWAS parliament. That legislature has commenced its sitting on Monday and on Tuesday, Ali as the chairman of its finance committee, is to deliver his report before taken his leave from the regional parliament.


All the preceding details were given to confirm that in Yobe, some politicians were only out to ridicule the judiciary. This is why one thinks the National Judicial Council should come in.


Any Judge who compromise the course of justice either by induced judgements or deliberate violation of judicial procedure should be sanctioned whether there is a petition against him or not. Such pre-emptive action will dissuade those collaborating with some Yobe politicians from continuing with such disservice to the rule of law.


•Abubakar sent this piece from Kaduna