By Mohammed Isa
All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential candidate and Kano state Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has accused the ruling Peoples Democratic party (PDP) of infiltrating and compromising the judiciary to manipulate the outcome of litigations that would arise from the forthcoming general elections.
In a statement issued by the Shekarau for Nigeria (SfN) Campaign Organisation, and signed by its Director General, Bolaji Khallel, Shekarau said the allegation by the President of Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami that he was asked by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Iyorgher Katsina-Alu to compromise the Court of Appeal’s verdict on the protracted Sokoto governorship has raised serious questions on the adjudication of election cases which will surely trail the forthcoming April polls.
The statement reads in part: “If the judiciary is the last hope of the masses of this country, what assurances are there that this judiciary, embroiled in its own politics as it is, can judiciously adjudicate? Is the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) confirming fears that it has infiltrated the judiciary, which was hitherto the last refuge of the common man?
“Is this an attempt to pave the way for malleable jurists to handle the forthcoming election and the attendant litigations? Tragically, this is not the lone instance in recent times where the PDP is involved in the manipulation of the judiciary.
“On Tuesday, February 8th, a Federal High Court in Abuja was told that a faction of the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo fraudulently obtained the order barring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing the governor’s list containing names of candidates for the April general elections. The PDP said the court was deceived into granting the order as counsel in the matter misrepresented the facts of the case and thereby misleading the court to issue the order.”
Shekarau said current imbroglio in the judiciary “is the most dangerous signpost of a creeping dictatorship,” adding that, “the judiciary cannot be a tool of the ruling party if Nigeria is to enjoy genuine democracy and good governance.”
He called on the National Judicial Council to correct the anomaly in order not to further expose the judiciary to the whims and caprices of politicians, and ensure that its order suspending Salami’s promotion to the apex court was followed by an inquiry into the allegations that arose.
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