Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar decried on Wednesday that Nigerian courts are playing an increasingly ignoble role in fuelling political crises across the country.
Atiku’s worries were expressed in a press statement released by his media adviser, Paul Ibe.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate was reacting to a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja on Wednesday that barred the Federal Government from providing additional monthly allocations to Rivers State.
Atiku’s statement came in response to a suit filed by the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly with the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24.
The defendants in the case were Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Accountant-General of Rivers, the State Independent Electoral Commission, the Chief Judge of Rivers, Hon. Justice S.C. Amadi, the RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.), and the Rivers State Government.
Others were the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that Governor Fubara broke constitutional protocols by presenting the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly.
In response, the former Vice President advised the judiciary against stirring trouble in Rivers State.
He questioned Justice Joyce Abdulmalik’s decision to issue the ruling, noting that the legitimacy of Rivers State’s 2024 budget was already under review.
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 judgement intended to undermine the Supreme Court.
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 judgement intended to undermine the Supreme Court.
Atiku also applauded the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, for summoning the judges involved in the Rivers State cases.
However, he called on the Chief Justice to ensure that those who are found at fault are disciplined to help restore the judiciary’s diminishing 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 that prides itself as the last hope of the common man. Foreign investors will avoid any place where judgements 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 percent 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 interests first.
“We call on the Nigerian judiciary to restore its image before it gets too late.”
