•Advises against turning courts to shopping centres for purchasing of ex-parte orders

A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), has advised justices and judges of the Supreme Court, the Appeal Courts and the High Courts to desist from turning their courts into shopping centres for unscrupulous and aggrieved partymen to window-shop for ex-parte injunctions.

HURIWA particularly slammed judges of high courts for issuing frivolous ex-parte orders of interim injunction sacking national chairmen of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Julius Abure.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, knocked the judiciary for its consistent attempts to torpedo democracy in many instances by issuing frivolous ex-parte injunctions to remove chairmen or members of political parties for subterranean reasons after some aggrieved party men approached the courts.

Recall that the crisis in the PDP deepened as the Benue State High Court in Makurdi ordered Ayu to stop parading himself as the chairman of the party.

The judge, W. I Kpochi, issued the interim injunction restraining Ayu from parading himself as the National Chairman of PDP, following an ex-parte application by a member of the party in Benue State, Terhide Utaan.

After the injunction, the party subsequently appointed its Deputy National Chairman, Umar Damagum (North), as its acting National Chairman.

On the other hand, a Federal Capital Territory High Court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as LP chairman; as well as three others also from parading themselves as national officers of the party. Justice Hamza Muazu issued the restraining order while ruling in ex-parte application argued by a James Onoja.

On the same day, a State High Court sitting in Benin, restrained LP and all its members from any suspension of its national officers till the determination of motion on notice.

HURIWA’s statement reads in part: “We condemn the rascality of judges in seeking to torpedo democracy in many instances by issuing frivolous ex-parte injunctions to remove chairmen or members of political parties for subterranean reasons after allegedly picking up bribes.

“Criminally-minded judges of high courts, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court must desist from turning their courts into shopping centres for bribe-offering party men window-shopping for ex-parte injunctions. This is important for the court to restore its credibility and sanctity as well as the confidence of the people that the court is hope of the common man.

“The Supreme Court’s lopsided judgement in the case of Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Bashir Machina in the legal tussle for the authentic candidate of Yobe North Senatorial District is still fresh. The apex court delivered a similar contorted judgement in the case between ex-minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; and a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Udom Ekpoudom, in the intra-party legal contest for the Akwa-Ibom North-West senatorial seat election in the just-concluded NASS polls.

“How about the January 2020 judgement of the apex court that sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as Governor of Imo state, and affirmed Hope Uzodimma as winner of the March 9, 2019 election despite that Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came fourth in the election and Ihedioha had over three times of the votes of Uzodimma.

“More cases abound. The courts – judges and justices must recuse themselves from cash-and-carry judgements to save Nigeria’s fragile democracy.”