Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressed his dismay on Wednesday, stating that Nigerian courts are increasingly contributing to political crises across the nation.
Atiku’s concerns were articulated in a press statement from his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party made these remarks in response to a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that prevented the Federal Government from releasing additional monthly allocations to Rivers State.
This judgment stemmed from a suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24) filed by the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule.
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The defendants included Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Accountant-General of Rivers State, the State Independent Electoral Commission, Chief Justice S.C. Amadi, retired RSIEC Chairman Justice Adolphus Enebeli, and the Rivers State Government. Additionally, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the Accountant-General of the Federation were cited.
In her ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik found that Governor Fubara had violated constitutional protocols by presenting the 2024 budget to a House of Assembly consisting of only four members.
In his reaction, Atiku cautioned the judiciary against inciting instability in Rivers State. He questioned the rationale behind Justice Abdulmalik’s order, noting that the legality of the Rivers State 2024 budget was already under appeal.
He stated, “Last week, the Court of Appeal declared that the Rivers State budget was illegal because it was passed by an inchoate assembly. The court ordered Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the budget afresh.
“The Rivers State Government has already filed a notice of appeal so that the Supreme Court can hear the matter. However, some elements in the Bola Tinubu administration have procured a judgment intended to undermine the Supreme Court.
“Even before the judgment was delivered, legal luminary Femi Falana (SAN) had alerted the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, of possible compromise after house gifts had been presented to judges in Abuja. Sadly, Falana’s warning was ignored.”
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Atiku also commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, for summoning the judges involved in the Rivers State cases.
However, he urged the Chief Justice to ensure that those found at fault face appropriate disciplinary measures to help restore the judiciary’s waning reputation.
The statement continued “The former Vice President said Nigeria has descended into the theatre of the absurd since the Tinubu administration took office.
“Courts are playing a more ignoble role in fostering political crises within political parties and even in states. From the emirship tussle in Kano State to the Rivers imbroglio where courts are going as far as preventing elections from holding, taking Nigeria back to the dark days of June 12, 1993, when polls were annulled.
“Sadly, under the leadership of those who claim to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy, the country is descending into chaos with conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction flying all over the place while judges are being induced in the name of empowerment and provision of houses.
“The result is that Nigerians are gradually losing confidence in an institution which prides itself as the last hope of the common man. Foreign investors will avoid any place where judgments can be bought by the highest bidder.
“Nigeria should not descend to the Hobessian state of nature where life is short, nasty, and brutish, where citizens opt for self-help. Rivers State accounts for almost 25 per cent of Nigeria’s oil assets. For a country facing an economic crisis worsened by vandalism and banditry, Tinubu should put his 2027 ambition aside and put Nigeria’s interest first.
“We call on the Nigerian judiciary to restore its image before it gets too late.”
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