Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), said on Monday that the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which validated the election of the governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Muftwang, has shown that the Court of Appeal willfully staged a judicial coup d’etat against the voters in Plateau State by unconstitutionally planting APC legislators to replace PDP legislators at both the National Assembly for Plateau State and substantial number of validly elected PDP state legislators in Plateau State House if Assembly.

The rights group said the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, “under whose leadership such a groundswell of unconstitutional acts were committed willfully by justices of the Court of Appeal she appointed, should accept responsibility for these colossal illegality in Plateau State particularly and quit the stage for a fresh President of the Court of Appeal to be inaugurated”.

HURIWA called on Simon Lalong and all the Plateau APC members illegally railroaded into the National Assembly and Plateau State House of Assembly by the Appeal court in a crooked manner should resign immediately or be recalled by Plateau State electorate immediately so as to right the injustice since those victimised can't go for redress at the nation's apex court anymore.

HURIWA recalled that Governor. Muftwang’s victory at the March 18, 2023 poll was upheld by the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Jos but the appeal court overturned the lower court’s victory declaring Nentawe Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress the winner of the election.

The rights group in a statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, recalled that the Appeal Court ruled erroneously but intentionally that the failure of the PDP to comply with the order of the Plateau State High Court in Jos directing it to conduct valid ward, local governments, and state congresses before nominating its candidates for the various elective posts was a breach of the law.

The court, for the same reason, sacked many lawmakers elected on the PDP platform in the state.

HURIWA however recalled with satisfaction that reading the judgment of the apex court on Friday, Justice Emmanuel Agim held that the APC and its candidate are not members of the PDP and cannot challenge the primary election of the PDP.

He also held that the tribunal and court of appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the issue.

Agim noted that the petition of the APC in the first place was an abuse of the court process and faulted the appeal court for sacking the governor.

He said: “The petition by the APC and its candidates are abuse of the court process.

“I wonder why the matter came to court at all. This appeal is allowed.”

“My worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of this,” Justice John Okoro said while agreeing with the lead judgment.

HURIWA citing historical evidence by Professor Chidi Odinkalu stated rightly that In Plateau State, all appeals went to a panel presided over by Justice Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, who has been a Justice of Appeal since March 2014. She was joined by Justice Abdulaziz Waziri, who was appointed to the court in 2021, and Okon Abang whose term on the court began only in October 2023.

On November 7, this Court of Appeal panel nullified the election of Senator Bali, claiming that “the PDP and its Senatorial candidate have no legal ground to participate in the election having failed to obey the judgment of a Plateau High Court that the party should conduct lawful elections for the purpose of having officers for Wards, Local Governments and State Council.” In his place, the court returned Simon Lalong as the winner of the election in which he had been roundly defeated.

HURIWA has therefore averred that it may be petitioning the National Judicial Council to force the President of the Court of Appeal Monica Dongban-Mensem to resign honourably or be sacked or else the Rights group will not waste time in mobilising the civil rights movements in Nigeria to take steps to compel the national hierarchy of the judiciary to do the needful to reform the decadent appeal court of Nigeria which has been exposed by the supreme Court for misreading the extant statutes governing elections in the Country which also questions the competence of that branch of the judicial for now until actions are adopted to cleanse that branch of the court system in Nigeria.

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