BREAKING: NBA Scores As Dame Pauline Tallen Apologizes To Nigerians And The Judiciary Over “Kangaroo Judgment” Statement
Dame Pauline Tallen, former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development has issued a public apology to Nigerians and the judiciary following her earlier statement on a Federal High Court judgment being a kangaroo judgment. The apology was conveyed in two National newspapers, The Guardian and Punch, as ordered by the court in a suit brought against her by the Nigerian Bar Association.
In a statement published in the aforementioned newspapers today, 16th January, 2023 Dame Pauline Tallen stated, “I hereby apologise to Nigerians and the judiciary for the statement credited to me that the court’s decision in Suit No FHC/YL/CS/12/2022 (Mallam Nuhu Ribadu vs APC and 3 Ors) sacking Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani as the APC Adamawa State Governorship Candidate was a Kangaroo judgment and should be rejected.”
“The statement was, by and large, misconstrued and quoted out of context, as it was not in any way or by any stretch of the imagination, intended to malign or undermine the integrity of the nation’s judiciary, neither was ita call for civil disobedience against the Bar and the Bench,” she said.
Recall that the THE METRO LAWYER (TML) had reported that Tallen, who was sued by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), had in 2022 while addressing journalists at the Annual General Meeting of her alma mater, and at a ministerial forum briefing of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reportedly referred to the judgment of a Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/CS/YL/12/22 between Mallam Nuhu Ribadu vs APC & 2 others, as a “Kangaroo Judgment”.
Describing the comment as unfortunate by a letter dated 14 November, 2022, the NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau had written to the former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, demanding her to withdraw the said disparaging comments and tender an unreserved and public apology to the Court, failing which the NBA would institute an action against her as being unfit to continue to hold any public office in Nigeria.
This letter was never responded to and the demands therein were not complied with, hence the institution of Suit No: CV/816/2016 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, asking for several reliefs.
On the 18th day of December, 2023, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory found in favour of the Incorporated Trustees of the NBA and against the Defendant, Dame Pauline Tallen in Suit No: CV/816/2016.
Consequently, the Court declared that the said statement of Dame Pauline Tallen (the Defendant) was unconstitutional, careless, reckless, disparaging, a call to disobey the judgment of court and therefore contemptuous of the Federal High Court of Nigeria. The Court also granted among other reliefs an injunction restraining Dame Pauline Tallen (the Defendant) from holding any public office in Nigeria, unless she purges herself of the ignoble conduct by publishing a personally signed apology letter to Nigerians and the Judiciary on a full page of the Punch and Guardian Newspapers. The Court ordered that the injunction restraining the Defendant from holding any public office in Nigeria shall become perpetual if she fails to abide by the order directing her to publish an apology letter within 30 days.
As the news of Dame Pauline Tallen’s apology circulates, discussions on responsible public discourse and the role of public figures in shaping public opinion are likely to continue. The incident serves as a reminder of the significance of measured language in fostering a constructive and respectful public dialogue.
