Defection: APC asks CJN to sanction judge The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, to sanction Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja for engaging in mischief capable of bringing the Bench into disrepute. The party accused Ademola of going beyond “the reliefs” sought by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in its suit by restraining its lawmakers from engaging in any act that could lead to a change of leadership in the House of Representatives. It, however, said in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that it was wrong for anyone to insinuate that Ademola ordered its lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to vacate their seats in the House. According to the party, the judge lacked the competence to deliver such a verdict since the issue of whether or not the lawmakers could defect was not before him. The party said it would appeal the ruling since Ademola’s perpetual injunction was not only unconstitutional, but also defeated the very purpose for which the legislators were elected into the House. “Justice Ademola’s unsolicited comments were clearly gregarious, unnecessary, and superfluous and have no foundation in law or fact, hence should be ignored,” it advised. The statement partly reads,“APC asked the CJN to act urgently to sanction Justice Ademola for engaging in mischief that could bring the Bench into disrepute. “If this case had been issued a day later than Monday, we would have said the judge was caught in the web of April fool. Alas, he indeed made the ruling on Monday, hence the need for us to take it very seriously for several reasons. “Firstly, the question whether the House of Representatives members should vacate their seats was not a question before Justice Ademola for determination. “The only question for him to determine was whether the APC members, with their numerical strength at that time, had the right to change the House leadership such as the Majority Leader, Chief Whip and their deputies. So, Justice Ademola had no business commenting on seats being vacated.” The APC also said it was highly unprofessional and unethical for a judge to delve into a matter that was subjudice in another court. It stated that the question of seats being vacated or otherwise was being heard by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the same Federal High Court in Abuja, who on March 29, 2014, said the issue was still before him and was not ripe for judgment. The APC recalled that it had on December 14, 2013 warned against any attempt by the PDP and the Presidency to turn back the hands of the clock as far as the cleaning up of the Judiciary was concerned, by inducing a disreputable judge to do its bidding. The party urged its supporters not to panic as the judgment was clearly intended to cause mischief, adding that the plan by the PDP and the Presidency had fallen like a pack of cards. Also in Abuja, the Minority Whip of the House, Mr. Sampson Osagie, accused Ademola of taking sides with the PDP-led Federal Government in delivering the judgment. Osagie, who led members of the APC caucus to a news conference shortly after the House rose on Tuesday, also accused the judge of overstepping his bounds by “injecting opinions” not sought in the originating suit . He recalled that all that the PDP sought in the case was to restrain the lawmakers from effecting a change in the leadership of the House. He noted that the PDP had hinged the prayer on the fear that by APC’s growing numerical strength in the House, its lawmakers could change the leadership of the House. The lawmaker argued that the judge’s action had made Nigerians to give several interpretations to the verdict. “The only import of the judgment is that the defected lawmakers cannot participate in the removal of the leadership of the House. There is nothing more to it; the judge was not called to offer any other personal opinion,” Osagie added. He said, “Our colleagues have appealed the judgment, a copy of which has been served on the House.” The legislator described the development as an act of “desperation” by the PDP to cling on to power in the face of the opposition by the APC. “What we are experiencing is the high-handedness of a ruling PDP government that is desperate to hang on to power”, he said. He assured Nigerians that the APC would remain focused in the face of the alleged manipulation by the PDP to hold on to power. The PDP caucus remained calm on Tuesday, contrary to expectations that its members would raise the matter on the floor. The session started and ended without a mention of the court judgment. The only noticeable reaction on the floor was that the PDP members were seen jeering jokingly at some of the defected lawmakers, urging them to “return home.” The APC members were heard responding, “no shaking”, “no going back”, “APC for life” and “forget the PDP.” However, The PUNCH gathered that the calmness in the PDP camp was due to a few minutes meeting the members held preceding the sitting. At the meeting, which was convened by the Majority Leader of the House, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, the caucus reportedly reviewed the judgment and agreed to maintain calm until they had been served with a copy of the judgment. “There is no point taking any hasty decisions without first being served a copy of the judgment officially,” a member of the caucus told The PUNCH. When contacted on why the caucus was silent on the judgment, the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, replied that further reactions would await the service of the judgment. Ogor said, “We are waiting to be served a copy of the judgment. We don’t have a copy for now served formally on us.” Asked whether his position was the outcome of the meeting held before the sitting, he replied, “That is what I am telling you. We have not been served with the copy of the judgment.” Efforts made by our correspondents to get the PDP spokesperson, Chief Olisa Metuh, to comment on the verdict were not successful. Metuh, who was said to be attending a retreat in Bayelsa State, did not pick his call. He also did not respond to a text message sent to his mobile telephone line.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 04:43:34 +0000