By Emmanuel Oloniruha
A SENIOR Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Jibrin Okutepa, has advised the Supreme Court to revisit some of its decisions that were rooted in technicalities in electoral jurisprudence.
Okutepa gave the advice on Thursday in Abuja, while delivering a keynote address at the first Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) roundtable, under the theme: “The Role of the Judiciary in Nigeria’s Democratic Sustainability”.
Okutepa said that such technicalities should be revisited, particularly on subpoenaed witnesses in election petition cases, adding that it was also necessary for all Nigerian courts and Tribunals dealing with electoral disputes to avoid technicality.
He said that in the words of the Supreme Court, “technical justice in reality is not justice but a caricature of it.”
Okutekpa said that there was no need celebrating technical victory or justice because in the long run, those principles would turn around to hurt all citizens.
“I charge the legal profession in Nigeria to have a serious rethink of the kind of principles of law it propounds and interprets in electoral disputes.
“Nigerians are worried, and the legal profession needs to be careful not to make itself the enemy of rational thinking Nigerians. I believe that as a nation, the judiciary is the light that must shine in darkness and not allow darkness to overcome it in its constitutional role of adjudication,” Okutepa said, adding that the oaths of office of Nigerian judges should be held sacrosanct, stressing that the Nigerian judiciary must not disappoint the nation.
In his remarks, IPAC National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, said that the council thought it necessary to convene the roundtable among relevant stakeholders, to explore the judiciary’s role in consolidating democracy in Nigeria.
He said that the aim was to identify challenges, and propose solutions to enhance the judiciary’s effectiveness. He described the judiciary as the bastion of the nation’s democracy; a stabilising force and the last hope of all aggrieved people against opponents’ inclination, penchant and propensity for injustice.
He said that as the “temple of justice,” courts’ ministers were expected to be upright, men and women of integrity who would dispense justice no matter whose ox is gored.
“Priests in the temple of justice are expected to be God-fearing, courageous and fearless in the discharge of their constitutional duties. This is conscious of the fact that they sit in judgment over the affairs of fellow compatriots, acting on behalf of God who is the Judge of all.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be anarchy and rebellion in the temple of justice – conflicting court orders/judgments by courts of coordinate jurisdiction as witnessed recently in Rivers and Kano states.
“There are also the growing perceptions of miscarriage of justice by some judgments delivered by Elections Petitions Tribunals and appeal courts which did not reflect the mandates of the people and led to mass actions in some States,’’ he said.
Dantalle said that the consequence of the development was the public lack of confidence in the administration of justice in Nigeria.
This according to him, called for urgent judicial reform to save the judiciary and restore its integrity and honour as the temple of justice and the last hope of all aggrieved people.
Dantalle said the key issues of great concern to IPAC and stakeholders include constitutional interpretation and judicial review;
Others were judicial independence and accountability; the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the effectiveness of current disciplinary measures in curbing misconduct. (NAN)
