Is Nigerian Judiciary The Weapon Fashioned Against Democracy?
A public affairs analyst, while criticizing what he termed "espirit de corps treatment" accorded members of the ruling party in Nigeria by antigraft agencies alleged that the antigraft agencies, security agencies and the Nigerian judiciary have all "defected" to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). At the time this statement was made, it sounded like a joke, but subsequent developments, especially the recent Federal High Court, Lokoja verdict in the NDC v. INEC case, have proved that the speaker was more than an analyst. He was equally a prophet!
From the days of Bulkachuwa, the Nigerian judiciary seemed to have dropped her traditional role as the last hope of the common man and began to work as the weapon fashioned against the Nigerian democracy! It got so bad that Senator Bulkachuwa gloated over the number of senators he "helped" using the position of his wife as the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal during a live transmitted senate proceedings!
The Federal High Court Lokoja verdict on the National Democratic Congress case is worrisome in many ways. The first point is that the court broke the Federal High Court (Civil Procedures) Rules 2009 by going back to a matter that it had passed judgment on. It is trite that when a court passes judgment on a case, the court becomes functus officio as regards the matter. If any party in the case or anybody is uncomfortable with the verdict, such a party or person has a constitutional right to approach the appellate court. This did not happen in this matter. Rather, an extraneous non legal entity filed an application before the court asking the court to reverse the judgement on the ground that its rights (which were not in existence) were hurt by the judgement; and Justice Dashen obliged! This is where the conspiracy against both the Nigerian democracy and the rights of millions of actors or participants in the Nigerian democratic space manifested!
Given the provisions of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedures) Rules Order 23 Rule 10 and Order 9 Rule 9, many questions about the intention of the court in reversing its earlier judgment in the NDC v. INEC case beg for answers. The questions are: Who was Peace Movement Party (?) in the eyes of the law or court? What rights did the said group have over the logo, given the fact of the registration and recognition of NDC with the logo as a political party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)?
For starters, Peace Movement Party (?) was not registered as political party or association under any law in Nigeria. Their purported application for registration as a political party had been denied long ago by INEC for being incompetent; and the application died. So, the so-called Peace Movement Party was not a juristic person or legal entity with right to sue or be sued in the eyes of the law. Secondly, the said Peace Movement Party had no lawful claim or rights over the logo because the registration of NDC as a political party with the logo as their symbol by INEC gave NDC absolute rights over the logo to the exclusion of the rest of the world. The subsequent universal goodwill which NDC garnered over time through the lawful use of the logo as its symbol is summary proof of NDC's radical or superior and exclusive rights over the logo under the Nigerian law!
These are enough to say that the so-called Peace Movement Party being a non-legal entity and devoid of any lawful rights over the logo had no locus standi to bring an application for reversal of the NDC v. INEC judgement before the court in the first place. Where it mischievously brought the application before the court like it did, the court ought to have thrown out PMP's application for being incompetent.
In that reversal order, Justice Dashen seemed to suggest that to the Nigerian judiciary, the rights of a ghost matter more than the rights of Nigerian citizens! In another vein, a popular opinion holds that the application was filed and the reversal order granted to frustrate the ambition of certain individuals in the 2027 general elections. In all, Justice Dashen has created unnecessary distress and confusion for the Nigerian democracy; and thereby perforated what remained of the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary. It is hoped that the National Judicial Council is taking note.
The recent bedlam against the reversal order by Justice Isah Dashen in NDC v. INEC must remind all courts that justice is the bedrock of democracy. As elections approach, the Nigerian judiciary is expected to be impartial, consistent, and courageous. It must resist pressure, avoid technicalities that defeat substance, and ensure no party is disenfranchised by judicial uncertainty. Courts should protect INEC’s independence, uphold due process, and deliver timely, reasoned judgments that inspire public confidence.
It is currently predicted that the consequential legal proceedings that will arise from the Federal High Court Lokoja order would be dragged to frustrate the NDC and her candidates in the 2027 general elections. The NJC should act to prevent that negative prophecy by ensuring accelerated hearing of this matter. The judiciary should stop acting as the weapon fashioned against democracy in Nigeria.