By: Valentine Adese (JP),
Like the Labour Party (LP) chapter in Plateau State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has also reacted to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Plateau State chapter’s Petition sent to the National Judicial Council (NJC), signed by Hon. Chris Hassan, the State Chairman and Mr. John Akans the State PRO against the trio of Justice B.M. Tukur, Justice O. Elekwa and Justice A.O. Adetujoye who are Members of Panel One of the National/State Houses of Assembly Tribunal sitting in Jos, Plateau State.
In a press statement signed by, Miskoom Fidelis Longban, the State APC State Secretary and Hon. Sylvanus Namang, the State APC State Publicity Secretary, made available to REALITY, the party has described the Petition of the PDP as, “Crass display of mischief and bad behavior”.
The APC’s Petition addressed to HIS LORDSHIP, HON. JUSTICE OLUKAYODE ARIWOOLA, THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA & CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL JUDICIAL COUNCIL, ABUJA, in part stated that, “Our attention has been drawn to a petition emanating from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Plateau State Chapter, addressed to the National Judicial Council and signed by Hon. Chris Hassan, the State Chairman and Mr. John Akans the State PRO against the trio of Justice B.M. Tukur, Justice O. Elekwa and Justice A.O. Adetujoye, over their sound, meticulous and scrupulous judgments on the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal.
“In the petition, dated Monday, 25th September, 2023, they alleged “deliberate perversion of justice and conspiracy to remove our candidates from parliament.
“Although we are not holding brief for the three learned Justices, we are duty-bound to react to the said petition because of the insinuations which tend to portray our Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in bad light. We are not only greatly saddened by this crass display of mischief and bad behavior, but also feel disappointed with this development.
“Suffice it to mention here that since the Governorship and National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunals began sitting in Jos, we have noticed how the People’s Democratic Party has continued to inundate the public and social media space with all manners of physical threats, social media bullying as well as contemptuous and vile statements against the integrity of the highly respected Judges.
“We are not therefore, surprised that the PDP has come up with this mischievous petition!”
The APC’s Petition also urged the CJN to also investigate Members of the Governorship Panel that sat in the state.
“We also call for a thorough investigation of the hurriedly passed judgment of the Justice Rita Irele Ifijeh – led Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal in less than two hours without going into the merits of the petition by the APC and its gubernatorial candidate, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe.
As a law-abiding Party, we believe in the independence and sanctity of the judiciary to dispense justice justly and fairly hence our resort to appeal the judgments delivered against our candidates. The petition by the PDP against the eminent jurists against their unassailable judgments which we know will stand the test of time is absolutely in bad taste and should be discountenanced for what it really is, in terms of mischief and utter desperation”.
READ THE FULL TEXT BELOW:
3/10/2023
HIS LORDSHIP,
JUSTICE OLUKAYODE ARIWOOLA,
THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA & CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL JUDICIAL COUNCIL,
ABUJA.
YOUR LORDSHIP,
RE: PETITION AGAINST JUSTICES, B.M. TUKUR, O. ELEKWA AND A.O. ADETUJOYE BY THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP), PLATEAU STATE CHAPTER
Our attention has been drawn to a petition emanating from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Plateau State Chapter, addressed to the National Judicial Council and signed by Hon. Chris Hassan, the State Chairman and Mr. John Akans the State PRO against the trio of Justice B.M. Tukur, Justice O. Elekwa and Justice A.O. Adetujoye over their sound, meticulous and scrupulous judgments on the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal.
In the petition, dated Monday, 25th September, 2023, they alleged “deliberate perversion of justice and conspiracy to remove our candidates from parliament”.
Though we are not holding brief for the three learned Justices, we are duty-bound to react to the said petition because of the insinuations which tend to portray our Party, the All Progressives Congress, APC in bad light. We are not only greatly saddened by this crass display of mischief and bad behaviour but also feel disappointed with this development.
Suffice it to mention here that since the Governorship and National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunals began sitting in Jos, we have noticed how the People’s Democratic Party has continued to innundate the public and social media space with all manners of physical threats, social media bullying as well as contemptuous and vile statements against the integrity of the highly respected Judges. We are not therefore, surprised that the PDP has come up with this mischievous petition!
In the said petition, they have particularly singled out the Justice B.M. Tukur-led National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal One for frontal media assaults simply because it has stood on the part of justice while delivering its judgments, sacking some PDP candidates from office. One aspect of the judgments which not only vindicates our position and affirms the decision of Two Jos High Courts and the Court of Appeal is the fact that the PDP in Plateau State does not only lack a valid structure for sponsoring candidates for election following its stubborn refusal to conduct an acceptable congress at the Wards, Local Government and State levels and is also in flagrant disobedience of several Court orders.
Furthermore, it is rather sad that in spite of the fact that section 285 (7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides for an appeal against any unsatisfactory decision of the Tribunal, the PDP has strangely resorted to its usual antics of blackmail through a so-called petition. This is even when the PDP, in a rather speculative manner, has not established any concrete grounds for such petition.
What we can readily decode here from the PDP’s body language is their ploy to unnecessarily harras and cajole the Judiciary into doing their bidding, as a pre-emptive move against impending verdicts of the Appeal Tribunal. To say the least, this action portrays a deliberate assault on democracy, independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law.
While we deprecate the use of foul and intemperate language against our Judges, in the course of discharging their constitutional mandate, we urge every party, no matter how aggrieved, to always explore the option of seeking redress at the appellate level instead of resorting to blackmail through uncomplimentary and uncharitable remarks against the hallowed temple of Justice.
We also call for a thorough investigation of the hurriedly passed judgment of the Justice Rita Irele Ifijeh – led Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal in less than two hours without going into the merits of the petition by the APC and its gubernatorial candidate, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe.
As a law-abiding Party, we believe in the independence and sanctity of the judiciary to dispense justice justly and fairly hence our resort to appeal the judgments delivered against our candidates. The petition by the PDP against the eminent jurists against their unassailable judgments which we know will stand the test of time is absolutely in bad taste and should be discountenanced for what it really is, in terms of mischief and utter desperation.
Finally, we humbly urge the National Judicial Council to ignore and disregard the said petition, considering its distractive shenanigans and lack of merit.
Signed:
MiskoomFidelis Longban,
APC State Secretary
Hon. Sylvanus Namang,
APC State Publicity Secretary
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