The dust of political gangsterism in Rivers State over the feud between a political godfather, Nyesom Wike, and a political godson, Siminalayi Fubara, is yet to settle and is set to redefine how far cronyism can be enthroned. By the middle of this week, it was clear that both camps had bitten the bullet and went for broke in a battle where one group must emerge victorious. The flurry of resignations in the Fubara cabinet, coupled with fears that more resignations may follow, could turn out a carefully scripted strategy for outdoing each other as the Wike-Fubara debacle reaches catharsis
Last Wednesday, the governor ordered the demolition of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex over what the state media minders described as structural defects caused by bomb explosions that rocked the complex in the recent past. While it’s difficult to explain away the fact that the demolition of the assembly complex may not be unconnected with the planned impeachment of Fubara by the pro-Wike lawmakers, both camps are set for a battle royale that may ignite ethnic conflagration.
On Thursday, an Abuja High Court issued an order that the defected 27, now 25, lawmakers be allowed to sit. Mid-week, Governor Fubara presented the N800 billion 2024 Budget to the 5-man Assembly in an undisclosed location in Port Harcourt, while efforts were being intensified to ensure the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (Amended).
It is no longer news that the Nigerian judicial system is flourishing in corruption. Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Dattijo Muhammad, in October 2023, bemoaned the virus of corruption ripping across the legal system. In the recent past, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) was forced to resign on account of corruption allegations. Even before the present lamentation over the corruption-ridden system, the Buhari-led administration had embarked on storming judges’ homes in search of bribe monies collected to swing justice to the highest bidder.
Avoiding instability in democracy
On 24 November, the Kaduna-based House of Justice, headed by a lawyer and human rights activist, Barr. Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, held its 8th summit in Kaduna, on the theme: ‘Electoral Accountability and Democratic Stability’. The keynote speaker who is also the Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, lamented the uninspiring state of the Nigerian justice system where the judiciary is deeply sucked in politics. According to the Bishop: “I am saddened by the fact that the Judiciary has now found itself being sucked into politics. Elections will always give us what I call unintended consequences but it is also important to understand that a contest is always a contest and you use the experience of this to prepare for the next contest”.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof Sam Amadi, sees the role of INEC as crucial and should not be limited to just assembling names of candidates on the ballot. In his words: “It is the duty of the courts to protect the people’s votes. INEC’s job is not just to count votes, it must be a regulator. The moment INEC puts the name of a candidate on the ballot, it should not be heard saying such a candidate is not eligible. The mere fact that they put the candidate on the ballot paper means they are eligible”.
Cleaning the electoral umpire
Senator Shehu Sani, believes that waning trust by Nigerians in the electoral commission is reflective of declining confidence in the agency overseeing the electoral process: “There is the need for judicial reform to ensure that those who will preside over electoral cases are insulated from compromise. People have lost hope in the executive and legislative arms of government. Now, the judiciary too is fast going in that direction. What happened in Plateau and Kano states are serious matters that challenge the honour and integrity of the judiciary”, he declares.
Ballason expresses worry that events in Burkina Faso, Sudan, Guinea, Mali and Niger Republic emphasise the urgent review of Nigeria’s electoral system. The CEO of the House of Justice called for compliance with the nation’s electoral system. Recalling false hopes the electoral umpire unleashed on citizens, ahead of the 2023 polls, she declares: “INEC’s failure to count and account for the sweat, tears and blood that often accompanies the Nigerian vote, has not met any consequence. At the minimum, there should be a refund to national coffers of the huge sum for the purchase of these electoral gadgets and an inquiry on why INEC failed on its part of the bargain”.
Without justice, no democracy
The threat against democracy is not corrupt politicians, but rogue judicial officers in bed with common crooks for power acquisition. When men and women succeed in the enthroning debauchery to access political power, then, democracy is threatened. Our democracy is presently on edge because wealthy politicians have captured power and become ultimate deciders of our country’s destiny.
Added to refusal by men and women in the Temple of Justice to stick by their conscience, dealers in the game of power see nothing wrong in deploying filthy lucre on some rogue judges of the courts that are supposed to be the last hope of the common man. As long as some rogue judges are allowed to hold sway, so long will our quest for stability in our democracy continue to be a forlorn hope. For Nigerians to realise the potential of its greatness in the comity of nations, judicial adjudications over disputed electoral verdicts must be devoid of manipulations.
The stability of any democracy is dependent on the impartial performance of the Justice System. To be burdened with a corrupt judiciary in any country only promotes the strangulation of democracy. Justice remains the oxygen of democracy. Therefore, politicians must not threaten justice by buying off the conscience of the men and women serving in the Temple of Justice.
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