There are three issues we have to do, however the majority is determined by the politicians. One of them is to make sure that the regulation is reformed. Everybody concerned in regulation reform is a politician; that’s the irony of the matter. When we are saying we have to change the regulation, we should not neglect that each member of the National Assembly is a politician and potential beneficiary of the regulation. The president is the opposite half of the legislative course of as a result of the legislative energy of Nigeria is invested in two individuals – the National Assembly and the president, as a result of if the president doesn’t signal, it can’t develop into regulation. So, the 2 of them are politicians, which implies it’s only by ethical persuasion that such an modification may be achieved.
In the 2023 election petition proceedings, the court spent much less time than the litigants themselves. The Supreme Court spent lower than per week to present its resolution and so they did comparable factor when Awolowo and Shagari had been earlier than them. On the court aspect, there isn’t an issue. Where there’s a drawback is the place you’re asking the court to be quicker than the authorized proceedings or to present you reduction which they will’t give by regulation, or to cease entertaining instances which they have to entertain by regulation. Once the regulation is modified and the politicians change their behaviour, then, the judiciary is the simplest as a result of it’s the most law-abiding and most cooperative, and so they don’t trigger issues for anybody. I didn’t file the petition for the election, so the Supreme Court didn’t give me an unfair judgement as a result of I didn’t file something. And if I file a very good one, they’ll give me common sense. I believe what’s essential to state right here is that, an election petition is not a obligatory competitors course of within the quest for energy. The cause we preserve having this rigidity is as a result of the court doesn’t have what the politicians need. So, there isn’t any time within the historical past of election litigation that the politicians shall be glad with the court as a result of the court can solely offer you justice. Politicians don’t need justice. They need judgement resulting in energy. So, they see the court as one other layer of getting energy. But, the court isn’t designed to present you energy. The court is designed to present you justice. So, typically you might get justice, but when justice doesn’t land you in energy, you say this isn’t justice.
I believe there’s a basic misunderstanding of the rule of the court and the rule of regulation, and I noticed that in the midst of our electioneering. There is none of this judgments by the Supreme Court that I didn’t predict. At no time can what occurred on election day be earlier than the court. That is not what it’s for. What is earlier than the court is the petition that the individual brings earlier than the court and if the petition doesn’t resemble what occurred on election day, the court received’t speak about it as a result of the court isn’t requested to oversee the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court is there to hearken to the petition earlier than it and if the petition earlier than it doesn’t seize INEC’s errors appropriately and goes exterior to speak about different issues that battle with the regulation, don’t say the decide who lives in Surulere, the place the anomalies of the election occurred, it’s anticipated to see causes with you. Sorry, he’s not that. He is what’s written earlier than him. Judges don’t have plenary powers. They are such as you and I on an bizarre day. The jurisdiction to find out the problem is proscribed by the declare earlier than it and the relevant regulation.
Some have argued that the Supreme Court positioned extra emphasis on technicalities in its resolution as an alternative of trying on the substance of the matter. For occasion, the problem of the Chicago State University certificates which was not thought of in any respect. What do you assume?
In election issues, there are three issues you must take into account. One, for people who find themselves not attorneys, every thing about regulation is technical to them. Two, election matter is alleged to be sui-generis; it doesn’t comply with the standard procedural, technical and substantive type as a result of election itself is technical in nature. It has a time restrict, what you possibly can plead, who generally is a petitioner and who can’t. The complete jurisprudence of election is technical by nature.
Thirdly, the declare of the get together earlier than the court was not a substantive declare; it was a declare primarily based on technicality as a result of if I come to court and say I scored the best votes and I can show it; that’s substantive. If I come to court and say, properly, the opposite individual scored extra votes than me, however he’s not certified, that’s technicality. Even if I say he doesn’t have a certificates, it’s technicality since you are not saying he’s the one the individuals voted for. You are saying that, properly, he may be the winner, however his vote on technical grounds ought to be struck out or discountenanced or wasted as a result of his deputy should file a paper inside 30 days and he didn’t file it. That is technicality, too.
In the case of Lyon in Bayelsa, the Supreme Court didn’t say Lyon didn’t win the election. They mentioned his deputy had a technical drawback. That is the problem. You can’t come to court to hunt technical reduction and complain that the court is answering you technically. This yr’s petition was essentially the most technical of all as a result of all of the issues they had been speaking about had been technical by nature. On the problem of Chicago State University, there are three levels to it. Even if the court had admitted the proof, it nonetheless received’t make a distinction, however the Supreme Court, being a remaining court, didn’t do ‘aguendo’ the place you don’t agree with it, however you’ll nonetheless admit it in case a court above disagrees with you. If they’d introduced it to the Court of Appeal, it could have mentioned the case isn’t admissible, however let me simply assume that it’s admissible in case it will get to the court above. But the case was dropped at the Supreme Court as recent, but it surely has a strict rule as a result of they don’t admit witnesses. Again, for the court to take a look at what the court on the decrease degree hadn’t checked out earlier than, they must assume the place of the court beneath as a result of if they’re to imagine the perform of the court beneath the time restricted for Court of Appeal to sit down on it had expired and that limitation of time is not said within the electoral act, it’s located contained in the structure and the structure is superior to the Supreme Court as a result of it’s from the structure that the Supreme Court was created. So, something that’s opposite to the structure, the Supreme Court can’t assist you.
There are some pronouncements that the Supreme Court made in that judgement, which I hope politicians will abide by, for instance, the problem of 25 per cent of the FCT, what’s your tackle that?
When the Supreme Court decided within the case of Atiku or Obi versus Tinubu, it didn’t have to look for a brand new rule. They simply referred to the INEC resolution. It may be very clear that it’s not required. In 4 yr’s time, some would have forgotten if the problem got here tangentially shut. Some individuals would nonetheless make the argument that it’s the nature of regulation follow. Don’t assume that is the final time you’ll hear it or hear it in court.
The INEC IREV and its Bimodal Voter Accreditation machine got here up within the petitions of the petitioners on the Supreme Court, regardless that the court had earlier dominated on comparable issues prior to now, like that of Adeleke vs Oyetola and Oyebanji vs Oni. Do you assume the apex court has spoken loudly sufficient for all people to now perceive?
That brings me again to what I mentioned earlier. Politicians don’t go to court trying for justice, they go there trying for energy. The approach to get a very good and clear election is to have good and clear politicians. Next to that’s to have your brokers at each polling unit. Once the election is carried out and you’re given your outcomes, you collate your personal outcomes. In reality, you possibly can have your personal inner IREV. In the SDP, the place we ran, we had our personal state of affairs room, and we had been collating our outcomes from all our brokers on the sector. When we began having issues, we observed that they went on ‘Awol’ as they had been not sending us something. From our findings, only a few controversies emanated from the polling models. If you’re complaining about 86000 polling models, you’ll routinely want 86000 polling brokers to come back and say I used to be there, that is the end result given to me, however it’s utterly totally different from what was introduced on TV. People assume the election litigation course of is a continuation of the election marketing campaign.
What is your tackle retired Justice Musa Muhammed Datijo’s allegations, just like the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court incomes greater than the Chief Justice of Nigeria?
What he mentioned is simply shocking to the general public. It is not to anyone who has met him. The approach he spoke at his valedictory is how he speaks each day. He is understood for that. He speaks straight from his coronary heart. He believes in Supreme Court jurisprudence. He is worried about what they do exterior the courtroom, which is the executive aspect. That was what led to the issue the place the late Gani Fawehinmi took your entire Supreme Court to court after they needed to gather Mercedes Benz from President Babangida at the moment. It can be a part of the issues you will see within the relationships between the senior attorneys like us and judges, the place a decide would have a birthday or an occasion and attorneys who know that the judges are not properly paid give some type of help. It can be the identical cause they’d an issue with Walter Onoghen earlier than he entered the chief department. If you’re the head of the court, you’ll have issues along with your colleagues similar to any human sources drawback as a result of, for instance, if the courtroom roof is leaking, it’s the Chief Registrar, who’s the Head of the Tenders Board, who has to award the contract, whereas the Chief Justice of the court, who can be the chairman of the physique, is the approving authority. If you go to the states, you will note that the executive judges within the divisions at all times complain in regards to the chief decide of the state.
It seems there isn’t any room for any perform for the quantity within the judiciary, what do you must say about that?
Yes, that’s why quantity two lasts so lengthy. It’s like a governor and deputy governor. I believe our basic angle to management in Nigeria wants a type of evaluate, which is that we have to be just a little extra liberal. We must keep away from concentrations of energy and privilege. In the case of the Supreme Court concerning what Justice Datijo is speaking about, even the Chief Justice himself has some measure of injustice to him with respect to remuneration. I don’t assume that speech is misplaced on his colleagues however for the general public, there isn’t a lot we are able to do for them as a result of the answer is inside their ranks, which is to evaluate their very own wage and speak to the fee concerned
The structure talked in regards to the variety of justices that ought to be on the Supreme Court at a given time, about 21, together with the CJN. But the quantity has depleted constantly by demise and retirement. What do you assume ought to be the mode of appointment of judges and justices?
There are two sides to appointments of Justices of Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. One aspect is the judiciary itself, the place they cope with the standard of the individual they need, and the president, who has the facility to nominate. From my studying of the structure, the president is much more highly effective than some other individual as a result of he’s the one who can appoint. The NJC could make suggestions to the president. If the president isn’t glad, he received’t appoint. And that’s the finish. On the opposite hand, if the president appoints someone and the judiciary isn’t glad, the individual could have a tough time.
Can the president appoint with out the enter of the NJC?
Under the structure, if someone makes suggestions to you, it’s not an appointment. From what I do know in regards to the presidential structure, you’re not sure to take any recommendation you’re not sure to take. You can disregard it. It is simply that it hasn’t occurred earlier than.
How can we open the method of appointment of justices to the Supreme Court in order that this inbreeding may be lowered?
Appointment to the best court ought to be from bench and bar as a result of regardless of the bench is writing, the bar is producing it, however in Nigeria, I believe we try to make two radical adjustments. I believe on the minimal, begin with the Court of Appeal; don’t leap to the Supreme Court unexpectedly. The judges are watching the attorneys too as a result of they know their behaviour. The approach we’re watching the court, that’s how the court is watching the bar. Let’s begin calibrating from the court of attraction the place you be taught judicial work.
