By The World Satellite.
The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group; Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the resignation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria; Ibrahim Muhammad Tanko based on the Group’s conviction that the present constitution of the Supreme Court of Nigeria under him has become heavily compromised and thus destroying constitutional democracy.
HURIWA in a statement on Tuesday jointly signed by the National Coordinator; Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and Director of Media Affairs; Miss Zainab Yusuf premised this conviction on the Kogi and Imo Guber Verdicts coupled with what it described as the suspicious manners of appointment of judges wherein children and wives of politicians are getting nominated into the bench of the respective courts recognized in section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on man-know-man basis.
“Increasingly, the Supreme Court appears to be losing its respect. Until now, any judgment by the highest law court in the land was regarded as sacrosanct and swallowed like a sermon from a church pulpit; no questions! Reviewing cases already being adjudicated over was unheard of. But it appears that such era is gone.
“The speedy deterioration of quality of judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the fast erosion of credibility of the state of adjudication of most Courts of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria goes a long way to show the deterioration of the integrity of the bench.
“The suspicious manners of appointment of judges which is based on Man-Know-Man is the reason children and wives of politicians are getting nominated into the bench of the respective courts recognized in section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Even recently the Vice President of Nigeria; Professor Yemi Osibanjo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a Professor of Law of Evidence raised alarm on the deteriorating standards of appointments to the bench just as a group of lawyers led by Professor Chidi Odinkalu cried blue murder over the dubious nominations of judges of FCT High Courts made recently in which children of judges were rewarded with elevation to the bench”, HURIWA observed.
While noting that these negative indices will invariably undermine the delivery of justice in accordance with the service direction and the statutes and the Constitution of Nigeria, HURIWA stated that the Supreme Court of Nigeria particularly have contributed to the erosion of the credibility and integrity of the judiciary through many dubious verdicts.
HURIWA cited the verdict on the Imo governorship which promoted someone who came 4th to first position and then the recent governorship verdict of Kogi state in which the apex court validated an election that the Police, police service commission and INEC adjudged to have been marred by violence.
“The bad example of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in those two judgments will haunt the Supreme Court of Nigeria for years to come as stated by Justice Nweze, who gave a lone dissenting judgment in the appeal filed to challenge the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s decision returning Hope Uzodinma as winner”, HURIWA averred.
Furthermore, HURIWA challenged Lawyers and Judges to rise up and stage a revolution in the Court system of Nigeria in order to rescue the Supreme Court of Nigeria from collapse of integrity and ethics, which according to them “characterize the current hierarchy of the Supreme Court which began with the way that Tanko Muhammad became acting Chief of Justice through an ex-PARTE ORDER obtained from the discredited Code of Conduct Tribunal presided over by the ethically challenged Chairman who at that time had a reported N10 million bribery allegations against him which was brought by the EFCC.
“We state in all strongest possible terms that the ex-PARTE ORDER, which paved the way for the illegal emergence of Tanko Mohammad as the Chief Justice marked the beginning of the decline of quality and standard in the nation’s highest court.
“Therefore we recommend the resignation of Tanko Muhammad and Justice Kekere Ekun accused of pandering to the whims of the APC, which is allegedly and reportedly the political family of her husband. For the Judiciary to regain her sanity, Tanko Muhammad must go”, HURIWA charged.
