By Kalu Idika
Victory could be said to be far from the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Mr Peter Obi as one of the Supreme Court justices, Helen Ogunwumiju, assigned to hear the appeal lodged by the duo appears to have strong affiliation with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that the Supreme Court on Thursday, constituted a seven-member panel of justices that will hear the appeal in the petitions filed by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi challenging the outcome of the last election that produced Bola Tinubu as president.
Notices for the hearing which is to begin by 23 of October 2023 were served on the two presidential hopeful two days ago.
The notices signed by Zainab M. Garba in the office of the registrar said by the Order 2 Rule 1(2) of the Supreme Court’s Rules 1985 as amended, the notice is deemed as sufficiently served on the parties.
Meanwhile, the list of members of the panel to sit on the appeals include justices Musa Dattijo Muhammad, Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Lawal Garba, Helen M. Ogunwumiju, I.N. Saulawa, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim
However, a thorough background check on the justices revealed that Justice Helen Ogunwumiju is the mother of Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, who is one of the APC’s lawyers at the tribunal.
She is also the mother of an Ondo State lawmaker under the platform of APC.
Considering the sensitive nature of the case in question and the political tension it has generated so far, can these justices be trusted seeing that some of them are partisan and belong to the ruling party?
Similarly, how can Nigerians expect justice to be served when some of the Appeal Court justices and that of supreme court justices are in bed with the Nigerian politicians and political parties? Invariably, Nigerians can now concur that the judiciary has been captured by corrupt political demagogues.
In sane climes, Justice Helen Ogunwumiju shouldn’t have made the list of the seven member panel considering her close romance with the APC but unfortunately, Nigeria has become a society where the rule of law and legal principles doesn’t matter.
As Monday approaches, concerned Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see a fearless judiciary that will stand firm and repudiate the judgement of the Appeal Court whose ruling has been described as miscarriage of justice.
Kalu Nwokoro Idika is a writer and investigative journalist with NewsBand Newspaper.
kalunwokoroidika@yahoo.com
