In what may be Nigeria’s most bizarre judicial charade of the season, a Federal High court in Abuja presided over by Chief Judge Dan Abutu this afternoon endorsed the current vacuum created in the country by the continued absence of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from his post. Goaded by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mike Aondoakaa, who was personally present in the court along with Mr. Amobi Nzelu, an Abuja based lawyer, the court declared that there is no vacuum whatsoever in the discharge of the functions of the President’s office. Contrary to at least one report, it did not declare that the Vice-President should now be sworn in.
The strategically-heard motion and hurried verdict, pundits believe, was deliberately and carefully orchestrated with the objective of scuttling the three critical related cases pending before the same judge which come up tomorrow for hearing. They were filed by the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr. Femi Falana and Hon. Aliyu Faruk and relate to the current political vacuum created by the non transmission of the statutory letter to the National Assembly by Yar’Adua before his trip to Saudi Arabia for medical attention.
Amobi Nzelu, purporting to be acting as counsel to one Mr. Christopher Onwukwe, who is curiously a fresh graduate of the Nigerian Law School working in his chambers, approached the court to determine whether the Vice President, under the provisions of Sections 5(1) and 148
(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, can exercise the executive powers vested in the President in the absence of the President and whether the Vice President can lawfully discharge any or all of the functions of the President in the absence of the President in the interest of peace, order and good governance of the federation pending when the President resumes and takes over.
Nzelu urged the court to declare that going by the combined provisions of those two sections, the Vice President can exercise the executive powers vested in the President in the absence of the President and that the Vice President can lawfully discharge all the functions of Mr. President in the absence of the President for the interest of the country pending when the President resumes and takes over.
In the supporting affidavit to the originating summons, the plaintiff confirmed that the President did not transmit any written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and that the Federal Republic of Nigeria currently does not have a head of government. He also stated that if the declarations sought are not granted that the country will be heading for social and economic chaos and constitutional paralysis as there will be no functioning government.
The seeming altruistic posture of Mr. Amobi Nzelu ended at this point and the real intention which he sought to achieve became apparent as the Abuja lawyer ignored the counter-affidavits filed on behalf of the Attorney General by Mr. Abdullahi Yola, the Solicitor-General of the Federation.
In the counter affidavit, Aondoakaa stated that the President is not in any manner incapable of discharging the functions of his office and that the absence of the President has not affected the smooth running of the polity. He also stated that the Federal Executive Council has reviewed the health condition of the President and declared him capable of discharging the duties of his office and that there has not been any failure on the part of the President in the performance of the functions of his office to warrant the transmission of any declaration to the National Assembly.
The Attorney General also stated in the counter affidavit that there is no statutory requirement that the President must transmit a written declaration to the National Assembly whenever he is traveling out of the country.
A lawyer of Amobi’s standing certainly recognizes the need to controvert an assertion in an affidavit through the filing of a better and further affidavit but he tactically neglected to do this. By leaving the assertions of the Attorney General to go unchallenged, he created an easy loophole for the court to make a decision that was favourable to the Attorney General.
As if on cue, the Justice Abutu held that statements not controverted are deemed to be true and declared that the Vice President had been lawfully discharging the functions of the President’s office on the strength of the delegation of the President of his duties to the Vice President.
Today’s hurried legal manoeuvres come one day after thousands of Abuja demonstrated in Abuja calling upon Yar’Adua to resign, and one day before Aondoakaa is due to return to the same court following adjournments in the three motions mentioned above. Analysts say it is evidence in itself that there is growing panic in the options left to Yar’Adua’s kitchen cabinet, and a measure of their desperation.
articleadsbanner
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });