Umahi: Our judiciary is on trial

By Emeka Okoro

I read the judgement of the Federal High Court sacking His Excellency, Dave Umahi, his deputy and members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly for defecting from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with disbelief.

The judgement is very defective and won’t survive appeal for a number of reasons.

First is the fact that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees Nigerians the right to freedom of association.

Section 40 reads and I quote: “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons , and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests.”

As such anchoring the judgement on the provisions of the Electoral Act, which are inconsistent with the constitution that guarantees right to freedom of association is an error.

Sections 1 and 3 of the Constitution not only affirms the supremacy of the constitution but also declares the provisions of any other Act that is inconsistent with the constitution as null and void to the extend of the inconsistencies.

It should also be pointed out that the constitution provides for four ways a governor can be removed from office. Defection is not one of them.

It is also common knowledge that the Supreme Court has since discarded the ratio in Amaechi v Omehia and said it is a bad law and should not be cited.

How this is lost on the trial judge beats my imagination.

The court held in Abdulrauf Abdulkadir Modibbo Vs Mustapha that unlike in the Amaechi’s matter, a political party is just a vehicle and that the courts should not declare anyone who did not participate in all the stages of the electoral process as the winner of an election.

The question then is, if as the court has ruled, Umahi was to vacate office, who is in the PDP that can be declared governor since he or she must have participated in the entire electoral processes? The answer is NO ONE.

This is Umahi was the candidate of the PDP and only Umahi and his deputy took part in the entire electoral process.

However, the most scandalous aspect of this judgement has to do with the fact that a Federal High Court in Abakaliki had earlier dismissed the same suit.

So rather than go on appeal, the PDP approached another federal high court that has now entered judgement in their favor.

Why would a court of coordinate jurisdiction sit on appeal, because this is what it amounts to, over the judgement of a court of same jurisdiction? Haba!!

Also, What happened to Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) that confers immunity on a governor from criminal or civil proceedings?

Nigeria’s judiciary is clearly on trial.

Emeka wrote from Abakiliki