The Supreme court has rejected the application to set aside its judgment that nullified all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who won various positions in Zamfara State in the 2019 general elections.
The five-man panel at the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, in a four-to-one decision said by seeking a review of its final judgment, the APC abused the judicial process.
The justices held that going by Order 8 Rule 16, the Supreme Court lacks the jurisdiction to tamper with its final judgment on any matter, except to correct clerical errors that arose from an accidental slip, or to vary a judgment or order, so as to give the intended meaning.
Justice Inyang Okoro who read the lead judgment said the application brought by former Governor Abdulaziz Yari led faction was bound to be unsuccessful.
“There is a total prohibition to the review for a judgment which accurately represented what the court implied. Such judgment cannot be varied.
“Our forebears did not leave anyone in doubt that judgment of the Supreme Court, once delivered, shall not be over-ride.
“The finality of the judgement of the Supreme Court is sealed. No one is allowed to file an appeal through the backdoor, no matter how the processes are disguised,” he said.
He warned political parties to abide by the rules and that if they refuse, “the hammer of the court will always fall on them.”
In addition to having its application dismissed, the APC was fined N2million.
However, a dissenting judgment was held by one member of the panel, Justice Chima Nweze, who said the Apex court has the power to set aside any judgment it gave in error.
In his opinion, the Supreme Court made a wrong consequential order, when it ruled that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), be sworn in because it got the second-highest number of votes in the election.
“The Supreme Court is not a Father Christmas to give benefits to candidates that were not parties in an intra-party dispute that involved only members of the APC.
“This court has the power to overrule itself when its judgment was entered in error. It is better to admit any error than to abide in error,” Justice Nweze opined.
He disagreed with the other four Justices and declared null the consequential order of the Supreme Court that gave the PDP victory in Zamfara State.
Recall that Justice Nweze also gave a dissenting opinion in a judgment that nullified Emeka Ihedioha’s victory and ordered that Hope Uzodinma of the APC be sworn in as Imo State Governor.
Recall that after the 2019 general elections were conducted, the Supreme Court disqualified all candidates of the APC in Zamfara state on the basis that they did not emerge through a validly conducted primary election. The Apex court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw the Certificates of Return of APC winners and issue new ones to candidates who scored second-highest number of lawful votes. A faction led by former Governor Yari challenged the consequential order, claiming the court should have ordered a fresh election.
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