-By Lloyd Ukwu-
Rumors are afoot that Amaechi and the APC may seek a court injunction
against the swearing in of newly elected Rivers State Governor Wike
despite his declared overwhelming victory by the National Election
Commission.
Such a legal caper bespeaks desperation. If Amaechi and the APC proceed,
they should be sanctioned by the court for frivolity.
Any sore loser could paralyze government if injunctions were issued to
prevent the installation of duly elected executive officials until all
electoral disputes had been finally adjudicated, which could take years.
In the interim, executive offices would be unoccupied and the government
would be disabled. In the case of Rivers State, it would mean an empty
Governor’s seat and no one in charge. That alarming propsect is why there
is no legal precedent for what Amaechi and the APC are plotting. If it
had legal traction, every disgruntled electoral loser would race to court
to frustrate the election results indefinitely and use that leverage to
extort concessions from the winner or spark political chaos.
An injunction is an extraordinary remedy and to be issued only when
preservation of the status quo is urgent to advance a strong public
interest. It is available only when legal remedies are unavailable such
as damages or removal after the assumption of office, both of which are
options in Wike’s case.
He won the election by an overwhelming margin. Every inhabitant of Rivers
State knows that fact. The motivations of the voters were twofold:
support for Wike, and disgust with Dakuku. Judges in Rivers State know
the same facts. They would immediately see the absurdity of any
injunction request by Amaechi and APC, which is why the latter are
flirting with forum shopping in jurisdictions favorable to them.
Nigerian courts are granting injunctions far too indulgently to stymie the
operations of coordinate arms of government. They have been issued
against the police to prevent an arrest despite the availability of the
post-arrest remedy of bail if there is no danger of flight and no threat
to the public safety. Such judicial interference violates the spirit if
not the letter of the Constitution’s separation of powers.
Nigeria earned accolades with the peaceful transition in the presidency
from the PDP to the APC. Its evolution towards a more mature democracy and
rule of law would be set back, however, if Amaechi and the APC are able to
enlist the judiciary to block Wike’s assumption of the governorship in
Rivers State.
The precedent would spread like an epidemic bringing political chaos and
strife everywhere in Nigeria.
Only knaves would risk such a calamity.
Lloyd Ukwu, a lawyer, writes from Washington DC, USA.
lawgroupinternational@gmail.com