Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its ruling on the application filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), for the review of its judgment which nullified the party’s victories in the general elections held in 2019 in Zamfara State.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammed who led a five-man panel of the apex court said the date of the ruling would be communicated to the parties.
The decision came after the parties to the case concluded their submissions on the application on Tuesday.
The APC and the faction of the party in Zamfara State led by former Governor Abdulaziz Yari had filed the application for the review of the May 24, 2019 judgment, which had nullified their victories at the general elections barely four days to their inauguration.
In the said May 24, 2019 judgment, the Supreme Court had declared that APC failed to conduct valid primaries and, therefore, had no candidates in 2019 general elections.
The apex court had declared the votes polled by the APC in the elections as wasted.
The People’s Democratic Party and its candidates, who polled the next highest votes in the elections, were declared the winners of the elections and eventually inaugurated.
But the application is challenging the legality of the consequential order of the apex court that allowed candidates of the PDP, who polled the second-highest number of valid votes, to be declared winners of all the elective positions in Zamfara.
The applicants had through their counsel Chief Robert Clarke, SAN, argued that the Supreme Court, acted without jurisdiction in a pre-election matter when it voided all the lawful votes that accrued to a political party.
In addition, he argued that the appropriate order the Supreme Court ought to have made was to order a fresh election in Zamfara State.
The applicants further argued that the court by its decision, usurped the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and “wasted” lawful votes that belonged to the APC.
“The consequential order denied the party in action the right of the lawful votes that accrued to them and awarded benefits to parties that were not part of the appeal.
“That the consequential orders made by this Honourable Court in the appeal has made non-parties to the appeal to unjustifiably benefit from the outcome of the appeal contrary to age-long decided authorities by this same court. Hence, asking this non-parties to reap from where they never sow.
“That the teeming electorates in Zamfara State have been unfairly and unjustifiably denied or deprived of their natural or ordinary outcome of the votes cast by them”, Clarke argued, insisting that the judgement, if not vacated, would set a bad judicial precedent for the country.”
However, another faction of the APC in the state led by Senator Kabiru Marafa, urged the apex court to dismiss the application marked SC/377/19 for being incompetent.
He said the apex court struck out the application on July 22, 2019, for being in contravention of Order 8 Rule 16 of the Supreme Court Rules.
Besides, Mike Ozekhome contended that in view of section 285(12) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the matter, being a pre-election issue that ought to be decided within 60 days from the day the initial notice of appeal was filed, had become status barred.
He said the instant application which was filed about 10 months after the Supreme Court gave its final judgement on the Zamfara matter, amounted to gross abuse of the judicial process.
He drew attention of the court to its recent judgments in Bayelsa and Imo states, wherein, it stressed that it lacked the jurisdiction to review its final judgement.
On its part, INEC, said it would abide by the decision of the apex court on the matter.
After it had listened to all the parties, a five-man panel of justices of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, reserved ruling on the application.
The CJN said the ruling date would be communicated to the parties, though he cautioned counsel to the applicants, Chief Clarke, for saying that the apex court placed itself in “a dilemma” with its decision in Zamfara.
He said all legal authorities and submissions of the parties would be considered and each member of the panel be allowed to make their decision.
“It is this same counsel that was in a dilemma and not this court. Make your submissions, allow us to go and sit down. The five of us will rub minds and decide on it.
“If one of us feels that it was what Chief Clarke is saying that is correct, we will still allow it. So there is no dilemma. Make your submissions and allow us to decide, please.
“We will take a look at The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, soberly, and then come back with our decision,” the CJN added.