PRESS RELEASE

OPEN PETITION TO NATIONAL JUDICIAL COUNCIL ON ELECTION PETITIONS

May, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) , crave the indulgence of our dear compatroits, to use this open medium to petition against the President of the Court of Appeal , Justice Umar Abdullahi and some less than honourable Justices, over their pervasion of justice at the Election Petition Tribunals nationwide.

We call on Justice Umaru Abdullahi to resign forthwith because of his ignoble role.

Our ground of petition is that on the balance scale of verdicts  passed on majority of the Elections Petition Tribunals, presidential, governorship, and legistlative elections; were skewed in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

advertisement

 To compound the perversion of justice, Justice Umaru Abdullahi deliberately subverts the Electoral Act and the Practice Direction, by wittingly refusing to enpanel Justices to hear appels pending at the Appeal Court; thus decending into the arena of conflict. It is our considered view that he has failed to pass the excellent bench mark of a democratic society. For the litmus test of the excellence of a democratic government is the efficiency and impartiality of its judiciary. Our fear is that the confidence of the citizenry is being eroded, when Section 285[3] paragraph 50 of the First Schedule of Practice Direction and Electoral Act, which empowers the President of the Appeal Court to dispense justice speedily, is subverted. Examples are bound that appeals filed between September 2007 and May 2007 are yet to dispensed with nor panel set up, to mention but a few, Peter Okocha AC, September 2007, Adams Oshimole AC, March 2007, Ajumobi ANPP, Governor T.A. Orji,  PPA Abia state etc. In this case of Senator Amosun, the President of the Appeal Court has refused to change the Election Panel, whch Senator Amosun accused of biased.

It is also a sad commentry that aside from Justice delayed being justice denied ;  the few fast tracked judgements delivered did not serve the cause of justice. Few examples are Enugu,Sokoto, Imo, Abia,Akwa Ibom states   and Benue South , Kano North, Enugu North, Anambra North Senatorial election petitions.

It is painful that the Appeal Court has become the weakest link in the Judiciary chain; by negatively re-inforcing the slide of Nigerian Democracy into One Party State

CNPP does not need to re-ecoh the position  of both  local and international Election Observers, that the 2007 election is a sham,
characterised by non- compliance with relevant laws and corrupt practices. All we need to point out is that Nigerians do not deserve the bloody violence witnessed in Kenya and Zimbabwe, nor their fragile pseudo-democracy.

We do not want the National Judicial Council to forget that when the vehicle of the Judiciary, as the last hope of the common man is blocked and the sancitity of the ballot box and seperation of powers atrophied; that is good bye to democracy.

The National Judicial Council in an effort to restore our democracy must stand up and rekindle hope in our people. Otherwise, people will be forced to resort to self help and mass action. The lost of confidence on the Judiciary is at the root of our call for Interim National Government. Concequently, we call on the National Judicial Council to invoke its powers as enshrined in paragraph 21(g) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and exercise disciplinary control over Justice Umaru Abdullahi, if he fails to resign. We demand similar treatment to be extended to Justices that perverted justice.

Osita Okechukwu
National Publicity Secretary
CNPP