The unfolding influence of “Justice” Chioma Iheme-Nwosu on the jurisprudence of electoral law in Nigeria is a thoroughgoing tragedy.
The unfolding influence of “Justice” Chioma Iheme-Nwosu on the jurisprudence of electoral law in Nigeria is a thoroughgoing tragedy.
The latest example of her confusion in respect of the interpretation of both the statute law and case law in election petition matters is evinced in her dissenting opinion in a House of Representatives matter upon which judgement was delivered yesterday by the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar.
Barely twenty-four hours following my response to the pathetic attempt to launder her tarnished reputation on these pages, she has erupted again in spectacular interpretative summersault. How could a high-placed judicial memory be so short, so flux or so damned dishonest? What a parade of shame.
“Justice” Nwosu, in her dissension yesterday, held that the matter was not justiciable in an election petition tribunal on the grounds that the crux of the dispute rested on matters pertaining to nomination, substitution and candidature. She held that the legitimate forum for such matters were the jurisdiction of the regular courts.
If “Justice” Nwosu has bothered to acquaint herself with the text over which she has the onerous burden and honour of interpreting, with the sole purpose of attaining justice, she would have noted that the tribunals are given irreducible jurisdiction on matters where a candidate alleges that he/she was legitimately nominated by his/her political party but was unlawfully excluded (or substituted) from contesting the election in question. There is no stipulation made as to who may or may not effect the substitution or exclusion. And there is a strict duty of compliance with the electoral law.
I am very reluctant to bore the distinguished readers of Saharareporters with the tedium of legal minutiae, suffice it to point out the web of bewilderment in which Nwosu has woven around herself; or perhaps it is a simple matter of her characteristic mendacity of which no one is now in doubt following her disgraceful showing in Ebonyi State. As the lead-judge in the Ebonyi Tribunal, “Justice” Nwosu delivered judgements on many matters that rested on the question of nomination, substitution, candidature, sponsorship, etc. In cases consisting of exactly the same facts and evidence, she delivered contradictory judgements, favouring those who dictated the outcomes they wanted on the back of fat cheques (or, more discreetly, Ghana-must-go).
How else could “Justice” Nwosu reconcile her dissension in the matter of Bassey Etim –v- Emmanuel Obot at the Court of Appeal and the matter of Ude-Umunta Anoke Michael –v- Sylvester Nwenugu Nwite at the Ebonyi Tribunal? In the latter case, she held in favour of the petitioner who alleged that he was duly nominated but was unlawfully substituted/excluded from contesting the election. She proceeded to refer to a letter written by the National Chairman of PDP to INEC as germane evidence in the matter.
Pray, how on earth could you refer to such evidence and still convince yourself that you are not dealing with a pre-election matter? What sort of warped mind could attempt to persuade a thinking populace that there is any form of intellectual coherence abiding in these two decisions? Or perhaps it is true that you considered Ebonyi a primitive backwater where you could defecate in the public place and get rewarded with a resounding ovation!
In very similar cases involving, for example, Dr Emmanuel Onwe and Onwukaike Nwambam (aka Lastborn), petitions that were on all fours as the aforementioned case, “Justice” Nwosu delivered an ignominious judgement and her recent effort, one can deduce, is an effort to redeem her jurisprudential credibility. But I am afraid it is too late. She has exposed herself as the shameless fraud that she is, and the bar and bench of the Federal Republic are the poorer for it. God help us.
I. Noyo
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