By Kenny Ashaka
Deposed Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Al-Mustapha Haruna Jokolo has launched series of allegations against Supreme Court justices, accusing them of a deliberate plot to confuse and complicate the appeal against his victory at the Court of Appeal in order to secure indefinite treatment of the case.
“The record of proceedings shows that this case has gone through 5 state high courts, 1 Federal High Court, 4 courts of appeal and 5 times before the Supreme Court between June 2005 and April 2017. In the process, a total of 13 Justices have presided, including Your Lordship (twice) in two rounds from Birnin Kebbi to Kaduna to Birnin Kebbi to Argungu to Birnin Kebbi to Sokoto to Abuja.
“I recall Your Lordship observing at the last sitting on 27/9/2016 that the case had taken too long; 12 years, prompting Your Lordship to direct that all briefs be in for hearing on 4/4/2017, including the consolidation of the two Appeals SC 2/2013 and SC 314/2016, rather than waste more time on injunctions and other interlocutory issues. As the plaintiff, my predicament cannot be better demonstrated,” he submitted.
He averred that despite his victory at the court of first Instance and the Court of Appeal without injunction granted against the verdicts, he was being prevented from the benefits of his victory by the present Appeal and in the process elongating his ordeal and increasing the weight of injustice imposed on him in the past 12 years.
In the petition entitled, “Re: Suit NO SC 314/2016: Alh. Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar vs Alh. Al-Mustapha Haruna Jokolo & 13 Others.
Dissatisfaction with the proceedings of 4th April, 2017”, dated 18th April, 2017 with reference no: AHJ/SC/01/L/17, Jokolo stated that he resorted to a petition when the hearing in April “was railroaded back to the slow lane in Your Lordship’s absence by another panel of Justices presided by Mary Peter Odili (JSC) CFR.
“Astonishingly, the presiding justice who agreed that an Application for extension of time to file Notice of Appeal by the 2nd-14th applicant was incompetent, instead of striking it out still went ahead to grant a seven month adjournment to 13/11/2017 to enable the applicants file a fresh application.”
The deposed Emir also alleged in the petition that the Justices exhibited favourable disposition to the appellant and applicants by ordering their Counsel to change his motion from Appeal to Cross Appeal and seek another date for filing, a stance which Jokolo noted was a help from the Justices to conduct their case. “My Lord, this case has been turned into the theatre of the absurd.
One is totally at a loss to know who is the Appellant or Respondent and where. It was designed to confuse and complicate matters so that the case will go on indefinitely if Your Lordship does not step in to put a stop to this mockery of our judicial system,” he appealed.