We condemn in its entirety, the decision by Nigeria’s President Buhari to appoint the tribunal Judges that would adjudicate the case instituted against him by the opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, following the much criticized rigged presidential elections in Nigeria.
It contravenes the grand norms of the principle of natural justice for a man to select those that would judge a case in which he is party to.
Buhari is known to have appointed five Judges to preside over the election petition instituted against him namely; Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, Justice Abdu Aboki, Justice Peter Ige, Justice J. S. Ikyegh and Justice S. C. Oseji. This decision grossly violates the cardinal principles of natural justice “nemo judex in causa sua” which states that “a man cannot be a judge in his own case.” It defeats the principles of democracy and justice for Buhari to depose the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Walter Onnoghen; appoint a new Chief Justice in the person of Tanko Mohammed who lacks basic qualification, and select the judges that would adjudicate in the election petition filed against him.
We therefore, as a matter of urgency, call on the international community to please call President Buhari to order. The appointment of judges in a sensitive case such as this should be the exclusive prerogative of either the Nigeria’s National Judicial Council or the Nigerian Bar Association. It may also be undertaken by Nigeria’s legislative organ otherwise known as the National Assembly, but certainly not the president who is the defendant in the case.
The international community must prevail on President Buhari to reverse this corrupt decision. Information available clearly shows that the presiding judge Zainab Bulkachuwa, Justice Abdu Aboki, and Justice Peter Ige have all pledged their loyalty to Buhari. The bias is conspicuously obvious as Justice Bulkachuwa is a wife of a senator-elect on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress – APC (Buhari’s political party), while Justice Aboki and Ige had earlier rejected the petition filed by the opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar for forensic analysis of the materials used for the presidential election.
Similarly, a coalition of about 45 political parties in Nigeria under the aegis of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has also issued a statement condemning Buhari’s undemocratic act. In their words,
“This idea of the Villa [Presidency] approving list of Justices that will sit over any matter, particularly the one where the President is a party, is novel and tyranny taken too far. The President has annexed the judiciary and the hope of the common man is blighted. Nigerians must rise in defence of the judiciary and insist that justice must be done in this circumstance.”
Call to Action!!!
#PresidentBuhariCannotAppointJudgesInHisOwnCase #SaveDemocracyInNigeriaAndAfrica #CallBuhariToOrder
