11 months ago
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File copy: Court of Appeal, Abuja
Four Civil Society Organisations have called on the National Judicial Council to probe the Appeal Court president, Monica Dongban-Mensem, and the justices involved in the Plateau State election matter.
The justices are Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, Abdulaziz Waziri, and Okon Abang, – all justices of the Court of Appeal.
At the appellate court, no fewer than 16 lawmakers who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 polls in the state were sacked.
The court predicated its decision on the failure of the PDP to comply with an order of court, directing it to conduct ward and local government congresses before nominating its candidates for the various elective posts.
The governor of the state, Caleb Muftwang, was sacked for the same reason until he was reinstated by the Supreme Court last Friday.
The apex court, however, faulted the decision of the appellate court, describing it as perverse.
Muftwang, on Friday, while speaking to State House correspondents after paying a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, said he was exploring political and legal solutions to address the saga involving the sacking of the PDP lawmakers in the state House of Assembly by the Appeal Court over pre-election matters.
The CSOs, under the name ‘Open Justice Alliance,’ in a petition sighted by our correspondent on Friday, alleged that the justices contravened the established legal principles with their actions.
The petition partly read, “The decisions handed down by the Court of Appeal, led by the aforementioned justices, which resulted in the removal of over 16 candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party who participated in the 2023 polls in Plateau State is particularly disconcerting as it contradicts established legal principles, including the non-justiciability of issues related to the nomination of political party candidates, as established in previous Supreme Court decisions.
“In light of these concerns, the Open Justice Alliance demands an immediate and thorough investigation into the actions of the justices involved. The alliance seeks a determination of the propriety of their conduct and calls for appropriate sanctions if culpability is established.”
