Writing on the topic “The Removal of a Governor of a State in Nigeria: The Trend to Quieten The Confusion and Uncertainty” being his contribution to the Essays in Honour of Hon. Justice Salihu Madibbo Alfa Belgore, GCON, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, 2007, the Chief Judge (CJ) of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike, decried the abuse of the impeachment processes in Nigeria. He lays the blame at the doorstep of the politicians, whom he says, “have merely introduced confusion in the process”.
He continues: “Any impeachment process, which was not originated and nurtured in the State House of Assembly cannot be said to be a removal process coming under Section 188 of the Constitution. The Chief Judge of a state before setting up a seven-man-panel of investigation must be satisfied that the process was not one being foisted on the House of Assembly from outside or by strangers to the legislative house”.
“The removal of an elected Governor of a State by a House of Assembly is a grave constitutional event. Accordingly, the courts must watch the process with a detective-eye to ensure strict compliance with the Constitution and to ensure also that the House of Assembly did not override by its actions, the conditions of law making as laid down by the Constitution”.
Now, fast-forward to the chicken impeachment epidemic that recently engulfed the Enugu State House of Assembly. Governor Sullivan Chime left no one in doubt from the outset that the move to impeach his Deputy, Sunday Onyebuchi, was at his behest. He told the Thisday Newspapers: “I gave him the option to resign. It has actually come to a point where we need to know who actually is the boss because we can no longer work together”.
One would have therefore expected the CJ to walk the talk. But, against all hues and cries, a kangaroo panel was set up, which in turn locked out the press and public in a process that would determine the political faith of a man they elected, tried Onyebuchi in secret, and returned a guilty verdict to the waiting House of Assembly against all facts to the contrary at the trial. The rest is history.
It was against this backdrop also that the interlocutory injunction granted by the CJ himself to the Sullivan Chime camp purportedly restraining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from recognising or using the delegates list emanating from the November 1 PDP Ward Congresses was not altogether surprising. In fact, an online medium, 247UReports, had published a report entitled “Enugu PDP Crisis: Chime, CJ Plot Kangaroo Ex-parte Order”.
Not only was the time within which the defendants should respond to the Motion on Notice filed by one Charles Okafor atrociously abridged from 7 days to 24 hours, the PDP national headquarters was not served as procedure demanded. Instead, they served the State PDP, where Chime’s man is the Legal Adviser, to ensure that the PDP did not make any appearance in court to inform the CJ that there was another suit on the matter going on in a Federal High Court.
The kabu-kabu injunction has expectedly drawn the ire of a cross section of the public. The Ward Delegates themselves have rightly described the ex-parte order as a “gross abuse of court processes and a typical market place injunction”.
Again, with the adjustment of the PDP’s 2015 timetable, which moved the party primaries further away, one also wonders the urgency warranting the abridgement of the period of response by the defendants to 24 hours!
The backyard manner of the injunction and its implications for Enugu PDP’s ability to field candidates for the 2015 election, apparently adds weight to the rife speculations that this judicial pronouncement is political and that Chime wants to stifle and possibly dump the party.
However, with due respect, Justice Umezulike is not a stranger to such controversies. The National Judicial Council (NJC) had in letter dated October 4, 2012 queried him over his conduct in suit No. E/270/2012 between Ichie Jude Okuli and National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh.
Chief Umeh had petitioned the NJC over alleged gross abuse of due judicial process by the CJ. Rather than ruling on Umeh’s preliminary objection, was duly argued by both counsel, the CJ extended the life span of the ex-parte order he made against Umeh on July 25 2012 by extra 48 days- against the High Court Rule of Enugu State, which stipulates that an ex-parte order cannot last beyond 14 days. By that, the ex-parte order, which ought have a life span of more than 14 days, was extended to a whooping 55 days never requested in court by any of the parties.
Accordingly to Umeh’s petition, lthough the CJ had on 1st July 2012 taken full arguments on notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case and adjourned the matter to 17th September 2012 for ruling of the court, he made a judicial summersault on that day. He instead declared to the surprise of all in court that he would rather hear the main suit and deliver judgment on the preliminary objection and the main suit together. Umeh saw this as a ploy by Umezulike to get into the main matter and deliver judgment against him, knowing that the notice of preliminary objection was strong enough to have legitimately terminated the suit.
Worse still, the September 19 request by Umeh to the CJ to disqualify himself and transfer the case to another judge since he was no longer confident of obtaining justice in his court fell on deaf ears. The CJ went ahead to hear the matter and passed judgment against Chief Umeh and even granted the other party more than he prayed for. Of course, the Court of Appeal Enugu wasted no time in quashing the injustice by the CJ’s court even as so many other alleged petitions by aggrieved legal practitioners and their clients who had allegedly suffered one form of miscarriage of justice or the other in his court, is still pending before the NJC.
For instance, the CJ was queried in May 2011 by the former CJN and Chairman of the NJC, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu. The query followed a complaint lodged on behalf of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, by an Enugu based legal practitioner, James Ikeyi in which he asked the body to discipline the CJ over his alleged role in the case of an armed robbery suspect whose arraignment in court was delayed for about five years.
Back to the kabu-kabu injunction, putting it and the emergency recall from recess of the House of Assembly to approve in a closed door session a whooping N11 billion loan seen by many as merely a massive 2015 war chest for Governor Chime, there is no doubt that Enugu is in for a tumultuous political times. But, shouldn’t the State’s Judiciary be just an impartial arbiter, instead of an aggressor?
The role of the judiciary in the electoral system and our democracy in general cannot be underestimated. It is high time the NJC wielded the big stick across the nation on any member of the Bench who abuses his or her office. Beyond crying out in the media, the Enugu PDP Delegates Forum should petition the NJC over this kangaroo injunction. Our hard won democracy cannot be left at the mercy of impunity and judicial recklessness. They should also initiate due judicial processes immediately to quash this obnoxious kabu-kabu injunction.
Ogboede writes from Enugu
