.”The group loyal to Lamidi Apapa is out to create more crisis in Labour party and destroy democratic values in Nigeria.”
By Israel Okah
The era of black market court judgement is back in Nigeria with ignominy. Within 48 hours, Honourable Justice Muhammad Nasir Yunusa of Kano State High Court presided over a pre- election case and delivered judgement against Labour Party without giving the Party any hearing at all.
On Thursday, May 18, while Nigerians focused on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, the suspended dissident Labour Party group led by Lamidi Apapa sneaked into Kano and filed a case seeking the nullification of all Labour Party candidates for 2023 general elections on the ground that the party did not submit its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, 30 days before the party primary.
Chidi Odinkelu, SAN and former chairman of Human Rights Commission gave an insight of the type of judge Justice Haruna is in his Twitter account: “In 2016, the National Judicial Council, NJC, fired Justice Moh’d Yunusa for high judicial misconduct, like collecting $ anyhow. Fiver years later, (two years ago) he was recalled in questionable circumstances. Today, he’s back doing impressive things as he alone can.”
That is the profile of the Judge the Apapa group searched out to do their dirty hatchet job in faraway Kano.
Labour Party has rejected the judgement entered against elected members of the party. “The group loyal to suspended deputy national chairman lamidi apapa is out to create more crisis in the party and destroy democratic values in nigeria,” said he Party in statement signed by Obiorah Ifoh, Acting National Publicity secretary, on Friday.
“The leadership of the Labour Party is horrified with the judgement entered against our party by a state high court in Kano state wherein it annulled the elections of our party members into various political offices across the 36 states of the federation.
The party is even more concerned at the haste with which Justice Yunusa delivered the appearance and judgement in the matter brought before the Court by suspended members of the party loyal to the former deputy National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa lasted only 48 hours.
Suit No FHC/KN/CS/107/2023 was filed by Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim against the Labour Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission seeking the court to revoke and set aside the certificate of return issued to all LP candidates declared winner in Kano and the 35 states of the Federation including the FCT Abuja.
Justice Yunusa ruled that the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission within 30 days before their primaries rendered the process invalid.
He also ruled that the party having not complied with the provisions of the electoral act cannot be said to have a candidate in an election and cannot be declared winner of an election.
Ifoh revealed that Labour party which was listed as a respondent was not aware of any suit against it in Kano State as the party was not served with any summons.
The former National Legal Adviser, Samuel Akingbade Oyelekan, who assumed a representative of the party, ceased being an officer of the party and his appearance for the party was not with any authorization from the leadership of the party’s National Working Committee, said Ifoh.
“You will recall that on Wednesday, we raised an alarm that suspended National Legal Adviser Samuel Akingbade Oyelekan, while the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was sitting in Abuja with all attentions focused on it, clandestinely sneaked out of Abuja to Kano state where he in collaboration with some members of the other political parties asked the court to invalidate all the elections won by the Labour Party, particularly, the national assembly in the 36 states and FCT on the ground that the party didn’t submit register of voters to INEC.O
Akingbade who presented himself as representing the Labour Party, did not oppose the motion, thus forcing the judge to reserve judgement for Thursday. On hearing the evil agenda of Apapa’s plot, the party directed one of its counsels to appear on its behalf, an attempted that was rejected by the judge, who went ahead to give judgement against the party.
“The judgement is not only inconsequential but also laughable and holds no water. The court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain an election matter at a time when elections have since been concluded and winners emerged. The Kano Court is also not a tribunal which has the constitutional powers to entertain pre election matters,” argued Ifoh.
He said the two respondents in the matter are Labour Party and INEC. *No individual was mentioned in the matter and no court can grant any relief that is not sought for. So we lose no sleep on the black market judgement as we will soon direct our lawyers to approach the Appeal Court to vacate the ill conceived judgement.
“Labour party has repeatedly raised the alarm of the plots by the opposition parties to ensure that Labour Party is engulfed in crisis. Few weeks ago, we alerted Nigerians of plots to hijack the party and by extension, target all our cases in the tribunal. We have since produced evidences of the letters initiated by Akingbade to various tribunals asking for withdrawal of cases before them.
“For the upteempth time, Samuel Akingbade, Lamidi Apapa, Abayomi Arabambi and everyone in that camp have ceased to be representing Labour Party in whatever capacity and statement serves as a disclaimer on them and for the information of Nigerians. Today at the FCT state High Court before Justice Hamza Muazu in a matter between Apapa’s group and Abure, the Judge among other things reprimanded Apapa camp for attempting to take over the leadership of the Labour party and constituting themselves into a nuisance.”
Following the national uproar that greeted the Kano judgement, the court issued a statement explaining that it did not annul the election of Alex Otto as governor-elect of Abia State because he was not a party in his court.
Justice Yunusa said the candidates who participated in the 2023 general election in Abia were not parties before his court.
“This court lacks jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of certificate of return. They are at liberty to seek redress in the appropriate Division of the court.”
Be that as it may, the ambiguous wording of the judgement gives it a holistic application and a tool for the Apapa group to further their disruptive activities against Labour Party. Their presence in the Court supports this argument.
The National Judicial Council should reign in the judges so that the judiciary will not set Nigeria on fire.
