There Is A New Janitor In The Court Of Appeal By Lanre Adewole

Last Wednesday, the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, and I briefly discussed the freeze order of the President of the court, Monica Dongban-Mensem (MDM) which took 95% of the court’s judicial personnel off election dispute adjudication. Unfortunately, we couldn’t cover the arising matters, before he was needed elsewhere, but he tried to impress on the point that her boss took the unprecedented step, mainly because of mounting security concerns and the possibility of bodily harm to justices of the 18 divisions now taken off appeals arising from governorship, National and State Assembly tribunals.

Umar disclosed that the “unification” decision became the only viable option for securing the appeal process, without over-stretching the available security resources. According to him, it would be unreasonable to thin out the available resources on all the 20 divisions, when Abuja and Lagos, can deliver on the election assignment and still keep litigants, jurists, and the society, safe.

I asked about the alleged festering corruption among tribunal members and the reported pressure from governors, to pervert the course of justice.

Umar laughed away the allegations, noting that there is yet any concrete evidence linking any tribunal member to judgment-buying. He joked with the reality of sitting venues not being enough deter against bribery, dismissing the idea that the appeals are being warehoused in Lagos and Abuja, to keep justices of the court, off politicians’ dirty largesse. “If a judge wants to take a bribe, where he is sitting doesn’t matter. Even if the sitting is moved abroad, money can still be offered and taken” he said, insisting the “amalgamation” was all about the safety of all.

Then he had to dash off, leaving a couple of issues hanging. I would have loved Umar to react to a news report that all appeals from North were moved to Abuja and all, from South, to Lagos, for some kind of watchlist. Well, just like he said, rogue judges will always find a way around their thing, even if the setting is in a monastery. Maybe, we quarantine judges, for future election duties.

Another worry is the volume of work that the 17 justices in the two divisions (9 in Abuja, 8 in Lagos as gleaned from the court’s latest yearbook, though nine new justices were recently added to the main poll) would be taking on. There are hundreds of election petition cases and practically all are ending in appeal. As currently constituted, only the Abuja division can produce three panels at a go. The court leadership may want to increase the number of judges, on an ad hoc basis, to maybe 15 each, for the two “favoured” divisions, making 10 panels, altogether.

Ten panels sitting in Abuja and Lagos instead of the “consolidated” 20 divisions and everyone’s security is guaranteed, looks like a fair deal, but that won’t change the reality of excess workload in an assignment of strict timelines and deadlines.

Since all appeals must compulsorily cross the finishing line, there is a tendency for the Abuja and Lagos panels, to rush through proceedings and deliver rulings in haste, thereby robbing the system of jurisprudential benefits that should come with the profundity of their pronouncements.

Even if the panels are thorough, the perception that 5% is being tasked with what 100% should do, will likely accuse hasty judgements stick and for a system already suffering from poor credibility rating, such an accusation may become irrefutable. Genuine errors can’t also be divorced from overworking.

For a court just waking into another malleability scandal as alleged by now-sacked Senator Elisha Abbo, there can only be a negligible margin for errors in the novel experiment embarked on by Justice Dongban, except the leadership isn’t bothered by how the system is perceived home and abroad. The crossroad the Nigerian Judiciary has found itself now, with the public, doesn’t factor in a likely genuine error in the interpretation of the law. Whenever a decision looks ridiculous, it is either the judgment is bought and paid for, or the court is pandering to external influences. Abbo may have walked back his accusation that Senate President Godswill Akpabio influenced the judgment sacking him, from the Senate, but he is yet to recant on the claim that the judgment sacking him is not the justice of the matter.

I foresee the Monica experiment running into an eventual headwind. After the presidential election judgement and a string of other judgements from the tribunals, opposition parties, particularly the Labour Party had alleged a micro-management of the judiciary, to favour the ruling party. The party’s brightest showing in the last general election was in the South, particularly in Lagos, where its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, an Easterner, triumphed over the homeboy and now-President, to the deep-seated anger of the President’s camp, in the state.

Asking the party to go and defend its wins and challenge for losses in such a territory, is like asking to go to a lair, for meat. You may become the meat. This is not suggesting that the Lagos division of the Appeal Court is in anyone’s pocket. Even on Thursday, a Labour Rep got a win there. But the perception is what it is.

From the Northern hemisphere, President Bola Tinubu is facing the biggest threat to his seat, from his one-time soulmate and business paddy-paddy, Atiku Abubakar. Kano strongman, Rabiu Kwankwaso of NNPP too has gone on the offensive since the election tribunal handed Kano back to the ruling APC, in a head-scratching judgement, sacking the NNPP-produced governor.

Abuja is now the home of the number one citizen and despite his very poor showing in the election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he now runs tins (street lingo for being in charge) around there, without suggesting he would interfere with the Abuja division sittings and outcomes, though his AG, Lateef Fagbemi was recently accused of intimidating tribunal in faraway Abia. Atiku and Rabiu’s loyalists in Adamawa and Kano, outside of their governors, will now have their fate fully determined in Abuja, under the President’s nose. Very interesting.

In every election circle, the PCA becomes the most powerful person in the land. Of the 506 (President+36 Governors+109 Senators+360 Reps members) consequential elective seats in Nigeria, without counting the inconsequential members of the state legislature, deputy governors, and vice president, he or she can solely determine what can happen to 469. Bulkachuwa’s husband reinforced this.

Even for the 37, President and 36 governors whose fate rests with the Supreme Court, the PCA, can, at least, shake them once or two, if so desired.

No doubt, the ongoing experiment has expanded MDM’s oversight reach, since she can now, as desired; determine which justice will work election matters in Lagos and Abuja, through transfers and secondment, just like she solely picked all the tribunal members, as dictated by the law.

The last time, a PCA worked a similar arrangement, sending special appeal court teams around the country, especially the South West, the attendant tsunami, consumed not a few and set the Judiciary on a path of self-immolation. The system is yet to ride out the storm.