By Moses Oludele Idowu
“It is time for thee Lord to work for they have made void thy law.” ( Psalms 119:126)
Here is a question for us all: what is the purpose of the law? To dispense justice or to deny it?
Here is another question for all Nigerians to ponder: who should own a house, the one who builds it or the one who merely covets it?
The Law of God and Equity says it is the man who builds the house who should live in it. The Supreme Court of Nigeria says the man who builds the house does not have to own it or live there.
Who should eat the fruit of the vineyard; the one who plants it or the stranger who invests no labour?
Again, the Law of God says the husbandman who labours in planting the vineyard should be the one to eat the fruit of his labour. Alas, the Supreme Court of Nigeria says not so, the stranger who merely covets it can own it and eat the fruit of another’s labour. They have thus told us by series of fundamentally singular acts and judgements based on spurious logic and unsound jurisprudence that, in essence, “you can reap where you did not sow.”
Hear O Lord and arise for they have made void thy Law.
What is the purpose of justice? Let us hear the Mosaic Code:
“If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.” ( Deuteronomy 25:1)
It is clear from this that the main purpose of exercise of juridical authority is to dispense justice not to deny it using technicalities, unsound reasoning, spurious logic and other euphemistic and semantic manipulations.
The English Common Law and indeed the American Law and Justice system has their root and foundation in the Mosaic Code and Enactments. From the Norman Conquest (1066) to the Magna Carta (1215), Mayflower Compact ( 1620) Bill of Rights (1688), we see the deep influence of Judeo- Christian values based on the Bible and especially the Mosaic Enactments. And this is the basis and philosophy of the Law in the British Commonwealth. The book to read is Gerald Thompson, Legal Foundation: The Framework of Law (especially the Chapter 9: The Bible in Legal History.)
This extensive preamble is necessary because today the very purpose and philosophy, the very principles and motif of justice are now imperilled right before our very eyes.
In a democracy a court does not make laws. That role is Constitutionally assigned to the National Assembly. The courts are to interpret the laws not make them. Alas, on our watch a set of activist judges have arisen who prefer to make laws or read their own opinions, prejudices, biases instead of interpreting the law.
That is why I cannot keep quiet.
*Curious Judgements Based on Strange Jurisprudence*
Here are three judgments from our Supreme Court in recent years:
1. *The Sheriff Machina vs. Ibrahim Lawan Case*
On February 6, 2023 the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a judgement that will go down in history to haunt the court for years to come when it decided in a split judgement of three to two that Ibrahim Lawan should be the candidate of an election in which he neither participated nor contested thus depriving the unopposed winner and the INEC- certified candidate, Sheriff Machina of his mandate. By this judgement the Supreme Court also ignores the judgment of INEC, the authority enabled by Law to oversee election and also vacated the painstaking judgments of both the High Court and the Court of Appeal which agreed with INEC that Machina should be the rightful candidate in the election.
If this is curious the history of the case is even curiouser.
On May 28, 2022 the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) witnessed a primary election conducted by All Progressive Congress (APC) for the Yobe North Senatorial District. In this election Bashir Sheriff Machina was elected unopposed. His name was validly entered as the candidate for the election by INEC according to law.
Ibrahim Lawan, who is also the Senate President did not participate in this senatorial election because he was eyeing a bigger slot. He was contesting for the presidential ticket of his party which held on June 8, 2022. The whole world saw this and it is clear that a person could not contest for two offices at the same time.
Lawan was originally being penciled as a presidential aspirant of the party as a consensus candidate by the Aso Rock cabal. Unfortunately for them the Old Fox at Bourdillon who knows more about politics and politicking than all the heads in Aso Rock put together outfoxed all of them and Lawan and his backers found themselves on the ground.
It was here the manipulation began. In a bid to find a soft landing for Ibrahim Lawan the APC, a party well-known for lawlessness, corruption and falsehoods, conducted another Primary Election on June 9, 2022, just a day after Lawan lost at Eagle Square without voiding the previous election. In this second “election” INEC was not present as mandated by Law because it was not invited, the previous election was not voided by this lawless party and the letter of Ibrahim Lawan withdrawing from the Senatorial election of May 28 had not been withdrawn.
On the basis of all these facts both the High Court and the Appeal Court decided that Sheriff who was validly declared the candidate at the first and only approved election witnessed by INEC on May 8 should be the rightful candidate.
The lordships of the Supreme Court were aware of all these facts and the manipulations of the party yet by a decision of majority of three to two decided in favour of Lawan and disqualified Sheriff.
In essence the Supreme Court has decided that Lawan can eat his cake and still have it; that he can reap where he did not sow; that it is all right for one man to labour and another to take the benefits of the labour. In short, that the one who builds the house does not have to own it or live there.
This is a stark departure from the wisdom, philosophy, logic and even the spirituality of the Mosaic Code and even the Law.
And what is the basis of this judgement by the Supreme Court? Machina is being accused to have erred because he commenced his case at the High Court by “adopting Originating Summons instead of Writ of Summons in view of the grievous allegations against the defendants.” For those who are not versed in legalese with its concomitant density, verbosity and jargons I will try to simplify what the apex court is saying. The apex court is saying that the man who owns the house should forfeit his house to the thief who lays claim to it because when the house was robbed instead of reporting to the Police he went to the Army or DSS – something like that.
If the purpose of the Law is to serve the course of justice, how has justice been served in this case? If the aim of the judiciary is to do justice and to also help people “to see that justice has been done”, how can anyone see justice being done here? I can’t see it.
2. *The Godswill Akpabio Case in Akwa Ibom*
The case of Akpabio in Akwa Ibom is similar but slightly different from above. It is based on the same principles though.
On June 8 the whole world watched Godswill Akpabio at the Eagle Square as an aspirant for the presidential ticket of APC. He was not and did not participate in the May 27 primary election for Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District held a week before on May 27, 2023. In that election Udom Ekpoudom was elected and this was witnessed by INEC and the election validly conducted and followed the process of law. Akpabio was still eyeing the presidential slot of his party and was not a participant.
However, the APC decided to field the name of this same man who was not even participant as its candidate for the election.
On November 14, 2023 the Appeal Court in a unanimous judgement declared that Udom Ekpoudom, a retired Deputy Inspector of Police who emerged at the validly conducted primary is the authentic candidate of the party.
However, when the same case came before the Supreme Court the court decided that the APC was right and that Akpabio was the rightful candidate; that it was the party’s internal affairs who it decides to choose to represent her. Thus the Supreme Court decided that Akpabio like the case of Ibrahim Lawan above should be the beneficiary of an election in which he neither participated nor contested while the legitimate heir of the authentic mandate certified by INEC should wait for another turn.
One thing should not be missed in all these. That a terrible precedent is being set for the administration of law in this nation based on perverse logic and pure injustice.
Let us not forget that these candidates, Sheriff and Ekpoudom purchased nomination forms to be able to contest their respective primaries ranging in millions of naira. They must also have campaigned in all the wards of the senatorial districts to win, all at great personal, financial and economic costs. They were declared winners and all saw that they won.
Now the Supreme Court says no, that the money they spent whether borrowed or loaned is immaterial but another person who spent nothing, mobilised none and expended no labour should be the beneficiary of another’s labour or effort. If the purpose of the Law is justice how has justice been served in these cases?
Is the Supreme Court saying that surrogacy, political banditry or brigandage and ambush tactics are now welcome and allowed; and honour and morality no longer part of the principles of Law?
It is not because of today, it is because of the future and tomorrow. We should be able to examine where our decisions lead and where they will lead in future.
*3. The Imo Governorship Election Judgement*
Time would even fail me to write on this. It might take a whole book. Indeed, the law especially in Nigeria, is an ass.
What is not in doubt is that most Imolites believed that they voted Emeka Ihedioha of PDP as governor. The INEC, the organ saddled with election agreed with them by declaring Ihedioha as the winner.
Both the Election Tribunal and the Appeal Court agreed with this verdict by upholding the victory of Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP.
Then came the Bermuda Triangle. At the Nigerian Supreme Court the victory evaporated, disappeared into thin air without a trace. In the opinion of the Supreme Court, majority of the people of Imo State including professors, clergymen, bankers, professionals etc do not know who they voted for. Not only that, INEC does not know what it is doing and both the Election Tribunal and the Appeal Court consisting of judges who passed through the same Law School that the Supreme Court lordships passed through, were wrong in their judgement.
In its own learned opinion the Supreme Court decided that Hope Uzodinma of the ruling APC who came fourth in the election is the valid winner of the election.
Even attempts by the Emeka Ihedioha to go back to Supreme Court to compel them to see reason availed nothing except for a dissenting judgement by one who agreed that Uzodinma had misled the Supreme Court with his controversial 388 polling booths that are neither here nor there.
The judgments of the Supreme Court do not change and cannot be altered except by another judgment by itself. Just like the iron decrees of the ancient Medes and Persia which cannot be changed or altered.
Thus the Supreme Court in one stroke overthrew the voice of the majority of Imolites, the decision of INEC and the opinion of other judges in the lower courts making a total stranger the beneficiary of the labour of others.
Since that day till now Imo and even the entire Southeast has known no peace. It was thereafter that the problem of Unknown Gunmen began and escalated that has led to the killings of several people and government agents.
This is how it always begin. When people are robbed of their legitimate rights to validly elect their own leaders then they resort to other unorthodox means to get justice.
It was like that in the South of United States after the Civil War, it was like that in the West after the massively rigged 1965 election during “Operation Wetie”…
But we know from the lesson of History that those who cause chaos and misery for others are ultimately and eventually consumed by their own inventions.
If it is okay to be nominated by a party even without contesting then why should anyone bother contesting in future? If another who never participated in an election can be fielded as candidate and the Supreme Court supports this method using whatever logic then why should anyone purchase nomination forms for elective posts? Why not instead bribe the party leaders to field you?
How does these extend the portals of justice? The Pharisees void the Law of God with their traditions; the Supreme Court voids the Law of God with technicalities and strange tactics.
How does these deepen democracy, the internal democracy and discipline of a party? Is this not an encouragement of political banditry and judicial chicanery?
What is going on with these judgments is a sign and a portent. John Bunyan (1628 -1688) in his masterpiece of allegory, THE PILGRIMS PROGRESS noted the experience of Christian and his companion, Faithful when they got to the City of Vanity called Vanity Fair. They were brought before the Court the supreme judge of which was one Lord Hate- good who passed unfair judgement on the wayfarers after listening to his three witnesses. Curiously and by a strange coincidence the split judgement in the case of Machina was also decided by three justices.
Could the great writer, John Bunyan as far back as 400 years ago have seen Nigeria and been writing about Nigeria? Has Nigeria become the City of Vanity and her supreme judge the Lord Hate-good? The very coincidences of these trouble me as a citizen.
It was here that Faithful was executed and Christian has to proceed to the Celestial City alone. Is this the beginning of the end of Faithful in our nation?
Chinua Achebe warns us that fiction can be truthful; what he fails to add is that it could also be prophetic.
Some scholars have expressed the strong opinion that Nigeria is a bandit state. Foremost among them is the late social science scholar, Claude Ake.
Are these people right? Could they have seen something that the rest of us are not seeing but that is now coming to light? We now have pulpit bandits, religious bandits, military bandits, government bandits, political bandits, economic bandits, Fulani bandits, Islamic bandits. And now, judicial bandits, who shops for technicalities and spurious logic to defeat and ambush the principles of justice and the purpose of law? Lord Hate-good is no more a character in literature it is now the very personification and embodiment of the logic and the very principles of highest judicial pronouncement in the land.
Welcome to the bandit state, the unmaking of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The decay has started. The retrogression has begun.
Why, I always ask this question, is Nigerian Court always lenient on the rich and the powerful but harsh on the poor? Why do the judgments of our courts always serviceable to the structure of power and indifferent to the aspirations of the common man?
I have found the answers but I reserve that for another day.
The Kenyan Supreme Court has reversed a presidential election to give the mandate to the rightful owner who was elected by the people. Can our own Supreme Court do the same even when the evidence is overwhelming?
Never. From 1979 till 2019 the Supreme Court has always decided in favour of electoral body in a presidential contest. It has always affirmed the structure of power and the hegemony of executive authority.
It is clear that these judgments will have their repercussions one way or the other especially the Imo State case.
Be afraid, be very afraid of Nigerian Supreme Court and the administration of justice in Nigeria.
We have heard the Supreme Court on all these issues but something tells me that this is not the end of the matter. Soon we shall hear the verdict of the Supreme Being, the God of all justice, Himself.
“It is time for thee O Lord to work for they have made void thy law.”
Moses Oludele Idowu is a researcher, writer and consultant. He is also an Apostle to the Body of Christ.
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©️ Moses Oludele Idowu
February 14, 2023
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