Date Published: 02/24/10

SOKOTO, Magatakarda and Justice By Emmanuel Onwubiko

One of the most contentious political litigations in Nigeria’s recent history is the ongoing matter at the governorship election petition Appeal Court between the incumbent governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamako and the Democratic Peoples Party’s (DPP) Governorship candidate in the re-run polls Alhaji Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi.

This judicial war-fare between the incumbent governor who is a peoples’ Democratic Party member and the Democratic Peoples Party’s candidate has attracted a lot of attention in the media because of the caliber of personalities involved in the two political camps.

First, the current governor belongs to the ruling peoples Democratic Party which in 2007 in an election widely considered to be free, fair and transparent by a lot of local and foreign observers defeated the new political platform established by then Sokoto State Governor Alhaji Mohammed Bafarawa who though was a governor elected twice on the platform of the All Nigerian Peoples Party decidedly floated a new political platform when he was not offered the presidential ticket of his former political party due to the influence and popularity of former military leader General Muhammadu Buhari who coasted home twice as the presidential flag bearer of the All Nigerian Peoples Party.

Political observers say that the ability of the incumbent governor of Sokoto to defeat the Democratic Peoples Party at the 2007 poll and again with a wide Margin in the re-run election of 2008 was a sign that Alhaji Wamako is a very popular grassroots politician who believes that politics without economic emancipation of the majority of the people especially in the rural areas was meaningless. Some observers even compare the current Sokoto state governor with the late legendary political philosopher from Kano State Alhaji Aminu Kano. During my recent private trip to Sokoto more than a dozen people I interviewed randomly told me that the incumbent governor is working so very hard to promote economic prosperity for the people; setting up and consolidating institutions that will ensure the respect to the civil liberties of the people and the promotion of inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony. In terms of the promotion of inter-ethnic and religious harmony I think the immediate past Governor Alhaji Bafarawa also set a good precedence which the current governor has consolidated.

But the intensity of the legal battle in Sokoto is such that both camps have raised allegations of bias on the part of the court of Appeal hearing the appeal filed by the Democratic Peoples Party’s flag bearer in the re-run poll and the incumbent governor’s party accused the national leaders of the opposition Democratic Peoples’ party of influence peddling and allegedly deploying the closeness of their party’s founder Alhaji Bafarawa to some national heavy weights like General Muhammadu Buhari and former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to score some mileage in the ongoing legal battle.

The incumbent governor also petitioned the National Judicial council protesting the decision of the Appellate Court in Sokoto to fix a judgment date without waiting for the Supreme court to dispense with a pending matter which borders on interpretation of the constitutional meaning of an earlier judgment by the court of Appeal which allowed the incumbent governor to be featured in the re-run poll thus nullifying a strategic prayer of the opposition party that he be disqualified since he cross carpeted to the peoples Democratic Party few days to election. The Supreme Court rightly intervened in the litigation over the Sokoto Governor’s seat by fixing March 15 this year for hearing an appeal filed by Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamako in connection with the law suit against his election filed by the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) candidate in the last gubernatorial elections, Alhaji Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi. This decision by the apex court has thereby reportedly halted further proceedings on the lawsuit by the Court of Appeal.

In that connection the National Judicial Council, acting on a petition filed by Wammako’s lawyer has ordered the suspension of proceedings on the matter before the Court of Appeal pending its investigations.

Specifically, the Supreme Court is expected to make a pronouncement on the interpretation of an earlier verdict of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna which voided the April 14, 2007 election victory of Governor Wammako and ordered a fresh election among all those who contested.

The DPP candidate had gone to the Court of Appeal, Sokoto to pursue his contention that the Court of Appeal, Kaduna’s verdict implied that Wammako could not contest again in the fresh election it ordered to be conducted. The candidate had earlier failed to obtain such a declaration, first from the Federal High Court, Abuja and later from the second Election Appeal Tribunal in Sokoto. Both courts maintained lack of jurisdiction to interpret the verdict of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna. The question I ask is when will political office holders know the right time to end a legal challenge?

Governor Wammako in his objection to the appeal before the Court of Appeal, Sokoto, argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to interpret, review or set aside a final judgment delivered by a sister division of the same court and invoked his right under section 395(3) of the Constitution that makes it mandatory for the Court of Appeal to make a reference to the Supreme Court for interpretation of such a substantial question of law before taking any decision on the matter.

Wammako’s petition before the National Judicial Council resulted from setting February 23, that is this Wednesday by the Court of Appeal, Sokoto for judgment on the matter while the motion for reference to the Supreme Court was still pending. There was also the inclusion of the wife of a prominent politician in the panel of judges. The allegation is linked to the appointment of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, wife of Adamu Bulkchuwa, (DPP’s governorship candidate in 2007) to preside over the panel of judges that annulled Governor Wammako’s first election victory before the Court of Appeal Kaduna. This report is credited to Sunday Trust of 21 st 2010.

The petition also complained of the arbitrariness and undue influence manifested by the apparent interest shown by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami who caused all the conferences of the panel of judges to be held before him in his Abuja office instead of Sokoto, where the court is sitting.

The decision of the National judicial council (NJC), a body created by the constitution to receive and entertain petitions against justices and judges of our courts to hear Governor Wamakao’s petition on its merit is a welcome development and is a step in the right direction.

One must commend the decision of the Supreme Court to arrest the pending judgment of the court of Appeal Sokoto pending determination of a motion filed by Governor Wamako on interpretation.

If the Court of Appeal Sokoto proceeds to give her verdict in this matter even when there is a pending matter in the Supreme Court on a strategic aspect of the prayers before the Court of Appeal, then the greatest act of injustice would have being perpetrated irrespective of whosoever scores victory.

Writing in the foreword to the 516-page book “Politics and litigation in contemporary Nigeria”, authored by this columnist, the former Federal Attorney General Akinlolu Olujimi [SAN] reminded the judiciary thus; “The constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria (1999) places the courts in an important position. Apart from being the custodian of the judicial powers of the Federation, the courts, especially the Supreme Court are given the final authority to interpret the constitution. Thus, the constitution is said to be what the courts say it is.”

“With such enormous powers, no one would disagree that judiciary has a crucial role to play in the development, sustenance and consolidation of our country’s young democracy, indeed, many observers and commentators have argued that whether or not Nigeria’s democracy would stand the test of time is a function of the extent to which the courts are able to adjudicate political issues fairly in order to win the respect of the political class.”

“It seems that, although political issues are often said to be outside the sphere of judicial intervention, the courts are invariably called upon to help resolve constitutional disputes, electoral squabbles and allied issues, which could hardly be separated from politics. The ability of the courts to distant themselves from politics while determining weighty constitutional issues of far-reaching political implications appears to be the major determinant of the success of the courts as the upholder of the rule of law.”

I believe that the incumbent governor is interested in achieving justice in this mater just the same way that his opponent in the Democratic Peoples Party is also pursing justice but in our search for justice caution must be exercised to ensure that justice is done both to the parties, the court and the nation.

Before boarding my flight back to Abuja from Sokoto, members of the family of my host, one of the oldest Yoruba families in Sokoto assured me that peace, social harmony have come to stay in Sokoto and it is my prayer that the public desire for peace would be respected by the politicians irrespective of camps and orientations because the security and welfare of the people of Sokoto is the primary duty of government.

* Onwubiko heads the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria.