The judiciary, often touted as the last resort of the common man, has always been an arm of government with a chequered history. Parties to issues brought before the lord justices are always hopeful of favourable outcomes and are, in fact, heavily invested in these expectations. Even cases the layman would dismiss as crystal clear, the judiciary is still expected to sit, decide, and make legal pronouncements.
These expectations are even higher in election cases. In Nigeria, despite a very long and rich history of electoral jurisprudence, the judiciary is always put on trial anew after every round of elections. This is despite the Supreme Court reiterating that: ‘’There is in law a rebuttable presumption that the result of any election declared by the returning officer is correct and authentic.” – Omoboriowo v. Ajasin.
This presumption was on Monday, 18th September, 2023, ratified when the Zamfara Governorship Election Tribunal upheld the election of Dauda Lawal Dare of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the validly elected governor of the state. Delivering judgement, chairman of the tribunal, Cordelia Ogadi, also said the petitioner failed to prove the claim that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, didn’t comply with electoral rules while conducting the election.
Although not surprising, this outcome is enough reason for Nigerians in general and the people of Zamfara in particular to restate their hopes on the judiciary. This is because, the Cordelia Ogadi led panel of justices stood firm to deliver that judgement in the face of revelations of attempted inducements of the panel by elements known to be apologists of the petitioners. In fact, like the controversial billboard inscripted with ‘all eyes on the judiciary’ reflecting on the Presidential Election Tribunal, Zamfara purported audio clip hugely beclouding the tribunal with suspicions, has caused uproar and several narratives in the media, accusations and counteraccusations by the parties concerned – PDP and APC.
Indeed, Zamfara state can be said to be a favourite of the judiciary, maybe more than any other state in Nigeria. The state and Governor Dare have continued to benefit from the dispassionate, firm, audacious, unapologetic, and indeed unbiased interpretation of Nigeria’s electoral laws by justices that have handled electoral matters for Zamfara state. In March 2019, the Court of Appeal sitting in Zamfara overturned the decision of a lower court which upheld the election of the APC despite glaring evidence that the party didn’t hold any primaries.
In the judgement, which was adopted by the two other judges in the panel, Tijjani Abubakar and Jamilu Tukur, Justice Tom Yakubu held that the lower court failed to perform its duty to properly evaluate the evidence before it. Again, on May 24 same year, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Appeal Court, to the effect that the APC did not hold any valid primary election and could not have contested and be declared winners in an election it didn’t present candidates.
While delivering a unanimous judgment of the five-man panel led by the then acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, the apex court declared the first runners-up in the 2019 general elections in the state as the winners of all the posts earlier declared to have been won by the APC and its candidates. Ironically, the appellant, Bello Matawalle, was the beneficiary of that example of excellent adjudication and not even the cantankerous request for the Supreme Court to review itself brought any reprieve to the APC.
Governor Dare himself has been through the highs and lows of the judiciary. But, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he emerged from the debris of opposition orchestrated frivolous court filings to win the 2023 election. I believe it’s on the strength of this that he had kept faith with the Ogadi let tribunal and it gladdens the heart that the panel of justices stood firm to deliver a judgement that was not only the expectation, but also the right call.
Whereas the case is still open since the appellant still reserves the right of appeal, it comes off as really frivolous for someone who confessed to have lost the election, albeit through FG’s might – whatever that means – will now and claim that he won. He may have hidden under the party which was roundly beaten to go to court but since the courts deal only with facts, there’s no surprise why they lost so fantastically.
The streets of Gusau, the Zamfara state capital, will not even lose any sleep over this declaration. Everyone already knew that the suit amounted to the wild thrashing of an already drowned party and its candidate. It’s still left to be seen whether they’ll dig into whatever reserve of honour they have left to move on from this embarrassing pursuit. Perhaps, that may still fetch them some sympathy from the people.
Dekera, a journalist, writes from Kaduna, Kaduna state.
