ON THE ASABA FEDERAL HIGH COURT JUDGMENT AGAINST THE APC LEADERSHIP IN DELTA STATE  AND THE WAY WE SEE IT

By Zik Gbemre

With regards to the recent Asaba Federal High Court judgment which upheld Cyril Ogodo as the authentic Chairman of the party, and in which some stakeholders like the Jones Erue-led Executive Committee of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have reacted, and said that the judgment of the Federal High Court, Asaba, cannot override the valid judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which remains un-appealed till date; we consider it necessary to reiterate that this line of argument is solid like the rock of Gibraltar.

If it is really true that there was a Consent Judgment on the same issue by a competent Federal High court on this, then it means some Nigerian Judges are simply outdated and out of touch with the realities of things.

A friend of mine recently jokingly told me that, most of the Nigerian professionals need to be retrained to

meetup with the world standard practices. And that Intelligence is not only to cram and write word for word,

but it will apply to personal knowledge and wisdom on issues, hence we have some elites as copy writers.

In my opinion, a Consent Judgement is as solid as the rock of Gibraltar, unless appealed against or set aside by

a Competent Law Court. Some of the “educated and learned people” in and outside the legal system need to upgrade themselves properly. It appears most Nigerian Judges have not learnt from the suspended Chief Justice Of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, issue that is still pending.

We believe the Nigerian Judiciary should avoid, and not avail itself of this sort of ‘dusty judgements’ that will further rubbish the fragile image of the nation’s Judiciary. The consistent abuse of Court processes by some Nigerian Judges will only stain and rubbish the image of the Nigerian Judiciary the more. All of this are parts of what have made the Nigerian Judiciary a laughing stock. As far as we are concerned, Court Judgements that undermine patriotic national interests are useless, nonsense and should not be entertained by group of stakeholders. How can we develop the country with this show of shame?

The entire world will further view

the Nigerian Judiciary as an irresponsible and shameful umpire that cannot be relied on for integrity-driven

judgements.

The legal system and the Judiciary in developed climes, strive to protect ‘national interests’ for the overall

good of their common citizens. But sadly here, our legal system and Judiciary are often tied to the interests of some selected powerful politicians and individuals. Even our national growth is discouraged by many factors that are anti-patriotic to serve the interest of some selected few to the detriment of the majority.

That is why Nigeria, has been a country that is moving one step forward and two steps backwards in the last

five decades or so.

The implications of a corrupt and unreliable Judiciary are too many. Amongst so many things, it discourages

foreign investors from investing in the country because if they cannot be assured to be treated fairly and

justly on issues relating to, and affecting their businesses, then what is the point for them to invest?

The Judiciary is seen as the last hope of the common man, especially in a society like ours where there is so much social, economic and political injustice. If the Judiciary is seen to be corrupt, and can easily be compromised, then the entire citizenry and the economy is at risk.

So, this issue is beyond the way we see it on the subject matter, but it is something that affects every facet of the Nigerian polity. In fact, the war against corruption in Nigeria cannot be won or record great successes if the Nigerian Judiciary through its Judges and the Law Courts, do not live up to its statutory obligations and integrity.

The status of the Judiciary within a democratic system is sacrosanct because they are given the mandate to preside over the interpretation, adjudication and dispensation of justice. As such, we cannot afford to have so many instances that suggest the sort of flawed judgements that were obviously borne out of a corrupt disposition amongst Nigerian Judges and within the Judiciary.

Some years ago, precisely in November 2005, a Federal High Court in Benin gave a Court Order restraining Shell (SPDC) from flaring gas in their operations, and we had to write to the Supreme Court of Nigeria then advising against having such dangerous judgement which has a lot of economic implications. This was

because, if Shell (SPDC) were to obey that Court Order, it automatically meant then that they would stop the production of oil and gas because the facilities were designed to flare gas in the process of production.

That means there would not have been the production of oil and gas, which will obviously affect the Nigerian

economy, as it will crash because the economy depends more on oil and gas production. If Shell(SPDC) should stop gas flaring with immediate effect and obey the baseless/frivolous Court order, then all the gas power stations, including Egbin power Station, Delta power stations, Ogorode power station, e.t.c, would have been shut down, which would have led to blackout in the entire country. The said Judge that gave that

Court Order ought to have given Shell (SPDC) some time frame for them to design new modern facilities with the high required technology that can carry out production without flaring gas. That is the situation with most Nigerian Judges who just sit in their Chambers/Court rooms and dish out Court Judgements as they please without appropriate research and findings.

The Nigerian Judiciary seriously and urgently needs to ‘cleanse itself’ from any iota of corruption because it is often described as the temple of justice and constitutes a vital component of any nation, especially a democratic system, and fully protected by the principles of separation of power.

Other credible ways can even be initiated to go about the task of restoring the integrity and credibility of the Nigerian Judiciary, especially as regards the integrity of Nigerian Judges, most of whom are no longer respected across the world.

Soon, Election Tribunal Cases will be sitting and being heard on the various outcomes of the just concluded general elections across the country. That is the more reason Nigerians need to be assured that the Nigerian Judiciary can be relied upon to handle this all-important task in the following weeks and months to come.

Zik Gbemre.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)

We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual as if those were our cause.