Plateau State: CJA flays Appeal Court verdict sacking 4 PDP members from NASS

The Coalition for Justice in Africa, CJA, on Wednesday, flayed the judgement of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which sacked four members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Plateau State, from the National Assembly, based on a pre-election dispute.

The group, in a statement it made available to newsmen in Abuja, maintained that the appellate court judgement would set a dangerous precedent in the electoral jurisprudence in the country.

It will be recalled that the appellate court had on Tuesday, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, okayed the nullification of the election of a Senator and three members of the House of Representatives in the state that emerged on the platform of the PDP.

The panel based its decision on failure of the PDP to fully comply with a court that was made in 2022, which it said directed the party to conduct congress in the 17 Local Government Areas in the state.

It, therefore, held that though the lawmakers won their respective seats during the National Assembly election that was held on February 25, all the scores that were credited to them amounted to wasted votes.

It ordered that candidates that got the second majority lawful votes at the election, should be sworn in as winners of the legislative seats.

Reacting to the judgement, the CJA, through its Convener, Me. Daniel Okwa described it as a rape of democracy.

The group argued that since pre-election matters are decided before elections, there was no locus standi under the law for it to be used to form a judgment to nullify the outcome of an election.

“Ironically, this played out during the Appeal Court judgment that removed from office some members of the PDP in the National Assembly. It is indeed worrisome that the judgment of the justices of the Appeal Court was in contradiction of the position of the Supreme Court,” it stated.

Okwa said the CJA was at a loss as to how an internal party affair of a political party should be in the interest of another party and on which basis the judgment was passed.

He said the verdict was capable of not only setting a dangerous precedence but equally opening a gateway to endless litigation in the future.

“The wisdom of dealing with pre-election matters before polls has now been undone, with the consequence that those who contested and won political office will now be spending the time they should have committed to delivering their mandate in court.

“The Coalition for Justice in Africa frowns on such a miscarriage of justice. It is our conviction that the internal affairs of a political party do not have anything to do with winning elections.

“This is a rape of democracy that tends to discredit the reputation of the judicial arm of government. The judgment is political and not on its merit. The assumption that the judiciary is the people’s hope has been grossly eroded.

“It is also evident that some powerful forces have taken control of the country’s judiciary. These vested interests would spare nothing in their insatiable desire to continue to rape democracy in Nigeria,” he added

Besides, the group noted that the Supreme Court had stated the importance of locus standi in pre-election matters in the case ALAHASSAN & ANOR V. ISHAKU & OTHERS (2016) LPELR-40083(SC) (Pp. 39 paras. D), where it held thus:

“As I said earlier, the appellant is a member of the PDP, not APC, and even if he is a member of the APC, he would have no locus to challenge the nomination of the 1st Respondent as he is not one of the aspirants who participated in the primary election.

“There are a plethora of cases and decisions on the issue of whether a member of a political party can sue another party for non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

“This is what played out at the Appeal Court, and it is such a shame that the custodians of the law have bastardized the law.

“The Coalition for Justice in Africa wishes to state in unequivocal terms that this decision questions our values as a nation if this brazen rape of democracy is allowed to stand.

“The judgment has painted the judiciary in a negative light. It is clear and evident that while the cases were before the Appeal Court, some highly placed individuals took advantage of the gullibility of our judicial officers to desecrate our democracy.

“We are further concerned that the Court of Appeal has wilfully decapitated the opposition in the country since fewer PDP lawmakers mean the country has edged one step closer to becoming a one-party dictatorship.

“The few PDP lawmakers left in the National Assembly are now easier targets for the ruling party should it decide clamp down on the opposition.

“This is a consideration our dear judicial officers should have borne in mind before reintroducing pre-election matters into post-election litigation.

“It is our firm conviction that the Supreme Court will address this anomaly in the fullness of time and save our democracy from destruction,” the statement further read.