By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Despite not participating in the primary election to contest in the Feb. 25 National Assembly election as a result of their involvement in the quest for the presidential ticket of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), the duo of Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and a former Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio have been cleared by the Supreme Court to participate in the general polls, a decision that has attracted criticisms.
Dissatisfied with the accusations of bribery by critics, including Faroq Kperogi, a US-based Nigerian professor and social commentator who wrote a critical piece questioning the integrity of the Supreme Court Justices, the apex court has cautioned against further attacks, saying its silence should not be mistaken for cowardice.
In the case of the Senate President, Lawan, the apex court in its judgment voided and set aside the decision of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal which had earlier confirmed Bashir Machina as the candidate. The court says only the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) can conduct a valid primary election.
For Akpabio, the Appeal Court had ruled that being a presidential aspirant of the APC, the former minister did not participate in the primary of the party held on May 27, 2022, and monitored by INEC, which produced Udom Ekpoudom as the APC candidate.
The Supreme Court however reversed the decision and directed the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Akpabio as the Senatorial candidate of the party in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.
In a statement by the Director of Press And Information, Dr Festus Akande, the court kicked against what it described as “unwarranted attacks on judicial officers.”
The statement reads, “We have watched with utter dismay some unfortunate events that have been unfolding in the country, particularly within the political landscape, for some days now.
“It is so disheartening to learn that some individuals and groups of persons who ought to know better and even assume the revered positions of role models to a larger proportion of the citizens are now sadly, the very ones flagrantly displaying ignorance and infantilism in the course of defending the indefensible.
“In an ineptly scripted toxic article, one Farooq Adamu Kperogi, who described himself as a Nigerian-American Professor, decided to plunge into an abysmal pit of irredeemable ignorance by venting convoluted anger on Supreme Court Justices with a view to pleasing his paymasters.
“We have made it abundantly clear on different occasions that Judicial Officers are neither political office holders nor politicians that should be dressed in such robes. Our silence must not be mistaken for weakness or cowardice.
“Certainly, every Nigerian citizen has an inalienable right to express his or her opinion without any encumbrance; but even in the course of expressing such fundamental right, we should be circumspect enough to observe the caution gate of self-control in order not to infringe on another person’s right.
“Even in a state of emotional disequilibrium, we should be reasonable enough to make a good choice of decent words, as every word employed by the pen-happy Kperogi only succeeded in portraying the kind of vacuum that sign-posts all that he has as academic accomplishment.
“I believe those who possess similar credentials with him are obviously ashamed of celebrating any form of affinity with such a character that has an odious reputation for being a serial verbal assailant over the years, as he sees nothing good in anything good.
“He has only succeeded in inflicting upon himself a mood of bellicose jingoism which does not represent a mark of honour for any discerning mind or academic, the world over.
“Courts don’t advertise or scout for cases for adjudication; but at the same time, we are duty-bound to adjudicate on all matters that come before us with a view to giving justice to whoever justice is due, irrespective of status.
“No court in any clime is a Father Christmas; so, no one can get what he or she didn’t ask for.
“Similarly, all matters are thoroughly analysed and considered based on their merits and not the faces that appear in Court or sentiments that attempt to becloud the sense of reasoning. So, for anyone in his or her right frame of mind to insinuate that the Justices have been bought over by some unknown and unseen persons is, to say the least, a bizarre expression of ignorance, which definitely has no place in law or even in the realm of pedestrian reasoning.
“We are not surprised with the surge of these well-orchestrated verbal assaults on Judicial Officers across the country at this period of elections. It is a thing we are used to and are ever ready to absorb whatever comes our way, but there should be some level of decorum and dignity in what we say and do. Politics should not be played without recourse to good conscience and acceptable moral conduct, as everything is evolving globally. Those who have cultivated the unfashionable penchant of always attacking the Judiciary over every judgment or ruling given should better have a rethink and start channelling such robust energy into some ventures that are more developmental than destructive.
“We are not politicians and should not, by any stroke of imagination, be cast in that mould either. Nobody’s interest can ever supersede the interest of everybody. Nigeria is bigger than every one of us. A word is enough for the wise.”
