What’s Justice Dongban-Menzem’s Fault? -By Shabul Mazadu

Since the nullification of Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Assembly elections by the Appellate Court, which sacked all its members, the party went furiously calumnious on the Court’s President, Monica Dongban-Menzem, with vituperation and qualifying her as a compromised legal luminary who breached the ethics of her profession and oath of office to favour the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Labour Party, LP, in dispensing judgment. But how true are the allegations.

First let’s see the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.

The Court has both appellate and original jurisdictions.

In its appellate jurisdiction, it hears and determines appeals, both civil or criminal, as of right from the decisions of the Federal High Court or the High Court of a State(S. 242 of 1999 Constitution), the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State including Abuja(S. 244 of 1999 Constitution), the Customary Court of Appeal of a State including Abuja(S. 245 of 1999 Constitution), the Code of Conduct Tribunals(S. 246 of 1999 Constitution) and Election Petition Tribunals, in particular the National Assembly, Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Tribunals. (Section 246 (1) (b) of 1999 Constitution).

In its original jurisdiction, the Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction as a Court of first instance in Presidential Election Petition (S. 239 of 1999 Constitution).

By this, with the exception of the Presidential election, the Court of Appeal only reviews verdicts passed by High Courts and others.

On this matter that the Plateau PDP is accusing Monica of comprise, there were court verdicts already against it over its invalid party structure.

Justice P. S. Gang first passed the verdict of a repeat of the PDP Congress on November 11, 2020.

When Plateau Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, excluded the PDP from the 2021 local government elections, the party went to Court, and Justice Kunda referred it back to the judgment of Justice Gang and ordered it to obey.

Instead of obeying, the PDP appealed Justice Kunda’s verdict both at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court but lost.

Aside loosing the court cases and appeal, the PDP was defeated on the same issue on the victory it secured at the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency by-election to fill in the gap created by the demise of the ex member representing the Constituency, late Hon. Haruna Maitala.

Hon. Musa Agah of the PDP won the by-election, but was dragged to the tribunal by his runner up, Mohammed Gwani, over the issue of non valid party structure. It also lost in its case against the APC over the 2022 Pankshin South Constituency by-election on the same issue.

It is worthy of note that the 2022 Electoral Act which has been a point of argument by the PDP to discredit the invalidation of its Congress, was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on February 25, 2022, while the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency and Pankshin South by-elections took place on February 26, 2022. This means that the by-elections were conducted under the 2022 Electoral Act. Hence, it has no basis to pervert the Electoral Act to suit its purpose.

The PDP lost at the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, and Agah was sacked from the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, and replaced by Gwani.

Prior to this, on April 10, 2021, due to the invalidation of its structure, the entire executive of the party from Plateau was hamstrung from voting at the PDP North Central Convention in Benue state, likewise the national convention which was held on 30th October, 2021 at Eagle Square in Abuja.

So far, there were judicial precedents indicating the invalidation of the PDP structure in Plateau State.

However, after the elections, some judges of the Election Petition Tribunal, set aside the High, Apellate and Supreme Courts’ judgment and declared that the PDP has valid structure such as the case of Plateau North Senatorial District, Mikang/Shendam/Qua’an Pan Federal Constituency and Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency, and some House of Assembly cases such as Mangu North Constituency.

It’s pure ignorance to celebrate the verdict of the tribunal which set aside higher Courts’ ruling knowing fully well you will be taken to the same higher courts for appeal.

Is it not laughable that a tribunal will set aside the judgment of the Appellate and Supreme Court and the victor rejoices?

Now, the verdicts went to the Court of Appeal for review, and there were verdicts passed by the same court faulting the PDP of structural invalidation.

Should the Court of Appeal now set aside its earlier judgment and uphold that of the tribunal which is lower than it in favour of the PDP? What would be the implication if it had done that? It would have caused conflicting judgments and confusion capable of causing sanctions on the judges concerned by the National Judicial Council.

The Court of Appeal cannot deny its judgment or upturn it. It is only the Supreme Court that can set aside the Court of Appeal’s judgments, and not the court on the same issue at the same or different intervals.

High, Appellate and Supreme Courts have found PDP culpable of structural invalidation before the 2023 general elections. The regional and national party penalized the state EXCO by preventing it from voting at their conventions because of the same structural problem.

The party lost Jos North/Bassa by-election over the same issue and also Pankshin South by-election, was Monica Dongban-Menzem responsible for all these? Was Dongban-Menzem Justice Gang, Justice Kunda, the regional and national PDP? Or was she behind their decisions?

The cases brought before her jurisdiction were meant for review. And in original and review of judgments, judicial precedents play significant and huge roles. The courts used the judicial precedents at its disposal, how then can the judges be said to have compromised? Have they ruled contrary to the previous High and Appeal Courts’ judgments?

In 2022 before the governorship primaries of all political parties Gwani’s counsel after the Appellate Court’s verdict, told the world that the judgment passed that the PDP has no valid structure will affect it in the 2023 general elections. The same thing, Hon. Edward Pwajok SAN, the LP governorship running mate, warned and explained that any vote given to the PDP at the 2023 general elections will be wasted.

With these warnings before the election which went unheeded how can someone claimed that the President of the Court of Appeal compromised while the facts are obvious?

It is clear that the PDP wanted the President of the Appeal Court to compromise and subvert justice, if not, there is no where she is culpable of the allegations against her.

The PDP should apologize to Monica for the baseless attacks and calumny.

Then President, and staunched PDP stakeholder, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, said in 2015 that his election is not worth the life of anyone. And true to his word he did not insist on the mandate when it was obvious he lost despite pressures from some quarters for him not to. Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State said, “No election is worth the life of any citizen.”

What is the target of the PDP by inciting its members against the innocent judiciary and Monica claiming to have been robbed? What is its target of organizing absurd and futile protests? What is the end result of the tension it’s brewing? Is it not war? Whose life is worth loosing because of the PDP’s brazen disregard to Court order?

The electorates gave their votes to the PDP in good faith, and the party lost them because of disobedience to laid down procedures, is it appreciation to cause problems to the electorates?

Those fanning the embers of tension for a probable crisis via malicious and calumnious propaganda, will not escape the explosion when it snowballed into bloodbath.

A former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan said, “We all share responsibility for each other’s security, and only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves.”

If the PDP thinks it will insecure the state over the judgments of the Appeal Court, it will dance to the sound of its drum. You can predict the beginning of upheaval, but you cannot predict its end and the victims.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo warns saying, “Violence never settles anything: apart from injuring your own soul, it injures the best cause.”

There is always tomorrow, but its success hinges on our positive actions of today. What picture is the PDP giving about itself today? Can it quench the political consequences conflagration of tomorrow or still the tsunami when in contact with or eye to eyeball with reminders? A poser for the wise!

Shabul Mazadu wrote from Jos.
shabulmazadu@gmail.com