BORNO GUBER SUIT: Supreme Court To Decide Next Week

The Supreme Court has fixed the delivery of judgment in a pending appeal in respect of Borno State Governorship election petition for next week, Monday, 31 October

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate in the April 26, 2011 polls, Alhaji Mohammed Goni, are challenging the victory of Alhaji Kashim Shettima.

Before the judgment date was set, the court noted that the reason that it would adduce for the judgment may not be made available on the same day.

Specifically, the apex court will on that date resolve all the consolidated appeals, SC/332/2011, SC/352/2011 and SC/333/2011 to enable the parties to know the way forward in respect of the election petition entitled, “BO/EPT/GOV/1/2011″ which gave rise to these interlocutory appeals before the Supreme Court.

Governor Shetima in his own appeal named SC/332/2011, is asking the apex court to set aside “an interim order stopping the trial tribunal from proceeding to deliver its ruling earlier slated for September 20, 2011”.

The Borno Chief Executive, through his lawyer, Mr. Yusuf Ali, a Senior Advocate Nigeria, prayed the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Walter Onnonghen, to hold that the stay of proceedings granted by the court of appeal Jos was illegal.

Essentially, he is relying on the mandatory provisions of paragraph 18 of the Election Tribunal and Court Practice Direction 2011, made by President of the Court of Appeal for the regulation of proceedings before the trial tribunal which forbids the granting of stay of proceedings on an interlocutory appeal.

In view of this provision, he prayed the court to set aside the ruling of the court of appeal, Jos, and asked the apex court for an order transferring the matter to a different panel of the court of appeal constituted by the President of the court of appeal to be heard on merit.

On the other hand, counsel to Alhaji Mohammed Goni, Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and that of the Peoples Democratic party, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said that they proceeded to the court of appeal in order to ensure that their case before the election petition tribunal does not become extinct on November 13, 2011 pursuant to section 285 (6) of the 1999 constitution as amended.

“After the 13th of November, 2011, the appellant would have been shut out completely with regard to their challenge of the election into the office of the Governor and Deputy Governor of Borno State of Nigeria conducted on the 26th of April, 2011”.

In addition, Fagbemi stressed that for the mere fact that an interlocutory application is before an appellate court does not mean that a substantive judgment has been entered by the tribunal to warrant counting of the 60 days constitutional provision within which the appellate court is supposed to resolve the application in question.

According to him, “In the instant case, since the tribunal has not delivered judgment, the 60 days referred to in that section has not commenced, adding that the issue of statute barred as canvassed by the Independent National Election Commission, INEC, does not arise.

In his submission, counsel to INEC, Mr. Paul Erokoro, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said that the appeal brought by Goni and his party, the PDP, is statute barred, pointing out that “the appeal is dead in the court of appeal and we cannot revive it here”.

Citing the law, he argued that an appeal from a decision of an election tribunal shall be heard and disposed of within 60 days from the date of delivery of the judgment of the tribunal.

Buttressing this position, he said, “the decision of the tribunal which Goni and his party have appealed was delivered on 10th of August, 2011 and 60 days from the 10th August, 2011 is on 10th October , 2011”.

Further directive as to how the matter may proceed or terminate depends on the apex court.

By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja