The conflicting judgments emanating from the Appeal Court and Election Tribunal in Plateau State go to reinforce the believe in some quarters that the judiciary has been expressly exposed to the cash and carry nature of doing business in Nigeria
By Miracle Egbo
Looking at the success that the Nigerian judiciary has made hitherto one would think that the critical realm of the third Estate has outgrown challenges of corruption. But the truth remains that challenges evolves meaning that you cannot stop growing. The ugly situation is that the judiciary has refused to grow what with the malfeasance that has become a recurring decimal in most of the Election Petition Tribunals across the nation.
Investigation choreographed by Tentacle revealed that the activities of the Election Tribunals and Appeal Court in Plateau State have further heightened the fear that most of the judgments delivered by these tribunals are judgment not justice thereby making the common man to continually lose hope in the judiciary.
The opposition Party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has called on the President of the Appeal Court to with immediate effect disband the Plateau State Election Appeal Court panel, accusing the panel of bias and compromise. The party urged the President of Appeal Court to reconstitute the panel so that the current travesty of justice being dispensed in Plateau State does not continue unabated.
The demand of PDP is coming on the heels that many judgment delivered by the tribunal has defied the law of the land both in logic and technicalities.
The main opposition party in the country, PDP has called on the President of the Court of Appeal Panel, accusing the panel of bias and compromise. The party urged President of the Appeal Court to reconstitute the panel so that justice is seen to have been served.
“As you are aware, from the votes cast in the 2023 general elections, the PDP recorded a sweeping victory over APC in Plateau State.
“However, apparently in a mission to assist the APC in its plot to rob our party of victory, The Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel gave varying and conflicting judgment in Appeals before it despite the clear similarity in facts, circumstances and applicable laws.
“What is more disturbing is that in all the Appeal cases, the court ordered a rerun where the PDP won and the APC came second, it ordered that the Certificate of Return issued to the victorious PDP candidate be withdrawn and a new Certificate of Return be issued to the APC candidate who came second in the election.
“Specifically, in the case of Plateau North Senatorial District won by Senator Simon Mwadkwon of the PDP and the APC coming third, the Panel in its judgment in Court of Appeal No.CA/J/EP/PL/SEN/12/2023 delivered on Sunday 22 October , 2023 curiously annulled PDP’s victory and ordered INEC to conduct a rerun election among all parties.
“In the case of Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency won by Hon. Musa Agar of the PDP and where the APC candidate also came third, the Panel in its judgment in Court of Appeal No.CA/J/EP/PL/HR/14/2023 delivered on Friday 27th October, 2023 annulled the victory of the PDP and ordered a rerun excluding the PDP.
“In the third Appeal Case of Shendam/Quaan-Pan/Mikang Federal Constituency won by Hon. Isaac Kwallu of the PDP with John Dafwan of the APC as a runner-up, the Appeal Court Justices in a Court of Appeal No.CA/J/EP/PL/HR/18/2023 annulled the victory of the PDP candidate, declared the APC candidate as outright winner and ordered that the Certificate of Return issued to the victorious PDP candidate be withdrawn and a fresh Certificate of Return issued to the APC candidate”, Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP revealed during his interaction with journalists in Abuja recently.
Information at the disposal of this medium revealed that APC happened in Plateau State because the former governor of the state on the platform of PDP tried to foist his kinsmen as his successor. That singular act made possible the happening of APC in the state, and since then peace took flight in the once peaceful state.
