TELL Magazine

The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the September 21 gubernatorial election in Edo State, Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata, has described as “reprehensible” the conduct of Governor Godwin Obaseki in swearing-in only five out of the eight high court judges nominated by the National Judicial Council, NJC almost one year ago.

The NJC had during its meeting June 14 and 15, 2023, appointed Obayuwana Osarenren Mathias, Ehinon Anthony Okoh, Ovenseri Otamere, Bright Eraze Oniha and Osayande Ikwuemosi Awawu, Edoghogho Eboigbe, Ojo Maureen Osa and Godwin Jeff Okundamiya as Judges of the state High Court but the governor had refused to swear them in.

However, swearing in five of the judges at the Festival Hall in Government House, Benin-City, on Friday, Governor Obaseki explained that the three nominees were excluded from the exercise as a result of petitions against them. Left out were Edoghogho Eboigbe, Ojo Maureen Osa and Godwin Jeff Okundamiya.

Akpata, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, would, however, not buy the governor’s defence, stating pointedly that Obaseki “willfully failed and refused to perform his constitutional duty to swear in all eight recommended Judges for nearly a year without any plausible justification”. He said the fact that he had now “proceeded to unilaterally select and swear in five out of the recommended eight Judges is simply a tragedy and a travesty”.

In a statement he personally signed and released to the media on Friday, Akpata called on the National Assembly, NASS, and the newly constituted Constitution Review Committees of both chambers of the NASS to urgently initiate constitutional amendments that would permanently insulate the judicial appointment process from what he described as “reckless political interference”.

The statement read: “Around noon today, Friday, May 3rd, 2024, His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki, the Executive Governor of Edo State, swore in five out of the eight new Judges recommended for the Edo State High Court by the National Judicial Council (NJC) at its 102nd meeting held on June 14th and 15th, 2023.

“While one must congratulate the five newly sworn-in Judges on their well-deserved appointments, it is a matter of profound regret that their achievements, and those of the three Judges, who are yet to be sworn in, have been tarnished by the grave injustice they have endured at the hands of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

“For nearly a year, these eight legal professionals languished in an unconscionable career limbo, with those previously in private practice suffering immense financial hardship through loss of earnings as they could not practice law as private practitioners having been recommended for appointment to the Bench. To subject any human being or public servant, let alone prospective guardians of justice, to such indignities is totally unacceptable.

“And now, by swearing in only five out of the eight recommended Judges without any reason or explanation, Governor Obaseki has further rubbed salt on the injury, riding roughshod over another arm of government in clear violation of the principles of separation of powers and in the process, leaving the other three Judges and their families in a precarious dilemma.

“As a senior member of the Bar and a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the reprehensible conduct of His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki, who willfully failed and refused to perform his constitutional duty to swear in all eight recommended Judges for nearly a year without any plausible justification. The fact that he has now proceeded to unilaterally select and swear in five out of the recommended eight Judges is simply a tragedy and a travesty.

“The laughable defence proffered by the Edo State Commissioner of Information and Strategy that petitions existed against the recommended Judges is an outright falsehood that defies credulity. As a member, at the time, of the very NJC that recommended these eight appointments, I can state categorically that all petitions were treated before the candidates were screened, and the successful candidates were the ones who were recommended for appointment to the Bench.

“It is a despicable act of calumny to besmirch the reputations of these innocent professionals merely to provide cover for the Governor’s dereliction of duty. The unvarnished truth is that Governor Obaseki’s refusal to swear in the 8 recommended Judges for eleven months and his decision now, to swear in only five of the eight Judges, stem from his displeasure at the fact that the list did not include his preferred candidates. Rather than respecting the NJC’s recommendation, he chose to grind the appointment process to a complete halt through sheer obstructionism.

“Sadly, this is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern of Governor Obaseki’s flagrant disregard for due process and the separation of powers. In 2019, he similarly obstructed attempts to swear in 14 duly elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly, displaying the same contempt for democratic tenets and institutions.

“For one who claims to be a democrat, such autocratic conduct is utterly reprehensible, and quite unfortunately, these ignoble actions will stand out as his enduring legacy, which no amount of spinning or propaganda can alter.

“It definitely is no coincidence that this sudden decision by the Governor to swear in only five out of the eight recommended Judges, is coming five months before the Edo State gubernatorial elections. It is simply emblematic of the deceitful, self-serving politics that have become a hallmark of Governor Obaseki’s PDP government, putting partisan interests above the rule of law and the interests of the people.

“Such conduct strikes at the very heart of our democracy and the principle of separation of powers. It represents a contemptuous attempt to subjugate the Judiciary to the whims of the executive, stripping it of its independence and reducing it to a mere appendage of the governing party’s agenda. This is precisely why I have been at the vanguard of the struggle for comprehensive judicial reforms to emancipate our judiciary from the suffocating grip of executive overreach at all levels of government.

“I hereby call upon the National Assembly (NASS) and the newly constituted Constitution Review Committees of both chambers of the NASS to treat this matter with the urgency it deserves. We must initiate constitutional amendments that will permanently insulate the judicial appointment process from such reckless political interference. Concrete safeguards must be established to forestall any recurrence of this invidious travesty, not just in Edo State but across the entire Federal Republic of Nigeria. Failing to do so risks inflicting irreparable damage to our democratic institutions and the fundamental rights of our citizens.

“To the five newly sworn-in Judges, I reiterate my congratulations and urge M’Lords to embrace their new roles as beacons of justice, equality, and the rule of law. Their integrity, impartiality, and commitment to upholding the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be the ultimate bulwark against the erosion of our cherished democratic principles and values.

“The people of Edo State have endured enough. They deserve far better than the contemptuous disregard for due process that Governor Obaseki has displayed by first delaying for no reason the swearing-in of the eight recommended Judges and now swearing in only five out of the eight recommended Judges.

“As we approach the pivotal 2024 gubernatorial elections, we must demand accountability, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to upholding the sanctity of our institutions from those who would presume to lead us.”

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