•Charges Nigerians on successors of CJN Ariwoola and INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu

By TINA TIMOTHY

A coalition of Civil Society groups has accused Nigeria’s Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of compromising and bastardising the country’s legal system.

The coalition, comprising the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), the South-East Zone of the Civil Liberties Organization (South-East CLO), the South-East Based Coalition of Human Rights and Democracy Organizations (SBCHRDOs) and the Human Rights, Social Development and Environmental Foundation (Port Harcourt), made the accusation in a statement issued on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. It was signed by the principal officers; Emeka Umeagbalasi (Intersociety), Comrade Aloysius Emeka Attah (South-East CLO), Prof Jerry Chidozie Chukwuokolo (SBCHRDOs) and Comrade Justine Ijeomah (Human Rights, Social Development and Environmental Foundation).

The coalition alleged that the nation’s electoral institutions and democratic processes are further destroyed by “election rigging, battered and compromised judiciary and electoral umpire as well as serial borrowings and associated squander-mania.”

The statement reads in part: “The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), the South-East Zone of the Civil Liberties Organization (South-East CLO), the South-East Based Coalition of Human Rights and Democracy Organizations (SBCHRDOs) and the Human Rights, Social Development and Environmental Foundation (Port Harcourt) have collectively observed that a rare opportunity provided by the letters of the law and convention for Nigerians particularly the country’s Democratic Forces has offered itself for purpose of redeeming the country’s battered and bastardized democratic process and take back her Judiciary and Electoral Umpire in order to return the country and its democratic process back on track. It has severally been investigated and found that most of democratic, judicial, political, defense, security and safety and economic tragedies facing Nigeria and Nigerians today are traced to the doorstep of the former Government of Retired Major Gen Muhammad Buhari and Prof Yemi Osinbajo which virtually abandoned multi-democratic principles and conventions in Nigeria as a multi-religious and cultural country; to a form of “Caliphate” system of governance and its accompanied dictatorial and totalitarian idiosyncrasies.

“The above disastrous style of governance under Retired Major Gen Muhammad Buhari and Prof Yemi Osinbajo had ensured and supervised bastardization and destruction of traces of democratic institutions and processes including appointment of incurable conformists and democratically pariah persons into Nigeria’s democratic public institutions particularly Policing Bodies, Judiciary and Electoral Umpire. The country’s legal system under Buhari and Osinbajo also became one of the worst hit; to the extent that most of Nigeria’s democracy enabling laws got afflicted with “ouster clauses” or anti democratic, anti rule of law and anti human rights provisions. The democracy-friendly sections of the country’s existing ‘grundnorm’ (1999 Constitution) were militarized and bastardized through ‘black-market’ enactment ofdictatorial laws and administrative pronouncements; to the extent that they were administratively elevated and enforced above the country’s existing ‘grundnorm’ in brazen and blatant violation of its Section 1 (1), (2) and (3).

“It is therefore not surprising that the present Government of Ahmed Bola Tinubu, with a brazen crisis of “input legitimacy”, is continuing with such disastrous policies and actions of the Buhari era including election rigging, battered and compromised judiciary and electoral umpire as well as serial borrowings and associated squander-mania. It must be noted that Nigeria is presently cruising to the crossroads irretrievable turnaround. Unless lawful revolutionary measures are timely activated by the remainder of the country’s old generation democratic forces and emerging new ones; otherwise the country will become a history; to the extent of its fragmented enclaves spending decades, if not centuries going round the circles of under-development and intractable backwardness. Nigeria as presently found, is in dire need of rescue and there is urgent need to revolutionalize Nigeria’s public democratic institutions such as policing bodies, judiciary and electoral umpire. This must include flushing out their present top heads in line with letters of the law and conventions. There is also need to set up a national legal think tank to review all the federal enactments made from 2011 to 2023 with a view to repealing those found obnoxious and inconsistent with global democratic principles and democracy friendly sections of the 1999 Constitution.”

Continuing, the coalition maintained that the headships of Nigeria’s most important public democratic institutions: Judiciary and Electoral Umpire “are portraying unchecked public characters that are unfriendly to principles of globally standardized democracy and rule of law, are also direct opposites of the rule of law, democracy and human rights compliant and ruled Society” and urged Nigerians to ‘seize the golden opportunity’ of the retirements of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and INEC Chairman, Professor Mamood Yakubu, which comes up on August 12, 2024 and October 21, 2025 respectively to ‘put Nigeria’s democratic process back on track’ by ensuring that those who succeed them are not ‘anti democratic elements’.

“Nigerians particularly democratic forces are called upon to rise and seize the golden opportunity of the exit dates of the two enemy-symbols of the country’s most important public democratic institutions: Judiciary and Electoral Umpire to put Nigeria’s democratic process back on track. Nigeria’s two most important public democratic institutions are the Judiciary under the Supreme Court of Nigeria headed by CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola (JSC), and Independent National Electoral Commission headed by Prof Mahmood Yakubu. It is also important to inform that the two most important institutions have been brutally compromised and bastardized; to the extent that their present headships are portraying unchecked public characters that are unfriendly to principles of globally standardized democracy and rule of law. The qualities of individuals occupying membership of the National Judicial Council are also direct opposites of the rule of law, democracy and human rights compliant and ruled Society. The last time we checked, the exit date for the current CJN (Justice Olukayode Ariwoola) is August 12, 2024 when he will clock mandatory 70 years retirement age and leave the stage. Prof Mahmood Yakubu as the current INEC Chairman will leave the stage mandatorily on October 21, 2025, having been first appointed on October 21, 2015 and will be completing his second term of five years on October 21, 2025. By letters of the law and convention, Prof Mahmood Yakubu as INEC Chairman will be unfit to conduct ‘Anambra’s off-circle Governorship Election of Nov 2025 and that of Osun in 2026 other than those of Edo and Ondo in 2024,” the statement continues.

The coalition also implored Labour Unions and Civil Society Organisations to ‘beam their searchlights on those the presidency nominated for the two top public seats’ adding that apart from workers’ pay packages, industrial actions must include public interest downing of tools.

“To ensure that the two most important public democratic institutions in Nigeria (Judiciary and INEC) are not allowed relapsing into the hands of ‘anti democratic elements’ and pariah others as their succeeding heads, the ‘prodemocracy revolutionary’ content of the industrial actions of the Labor Unions and Rights and Democracy CSOs must be activated and used to ground the National Assembly and stop them from rubber-stamping compromised elements and pariah others as presidential nominees for the posts of CJN and INEC Chair. The Labor Unions and CSOs must from the beginning beam their searchlights on those the presidency nominated for the two top public seats. Time has also come for the Labor Unions and CSOs to rise beyond “industrial action on the basis of workers’ pay packages alone” and expand it to include “Public Interest downing of industrial tools”. To achieve this, the Industrial Action in Nigeria must be returned to pre Adams Oshiomohole era of “industrial action in the daytime and suspension of it in the hours of the blue law” and “under controversial circumstances,” the coalition stated.