Umahi: Return of erudite and landmark judgements

Gboyega Amoboye.

“YOU are not entitled to the honour you do not posses having taken the votes of your people to a political party they did not vote for”. This was the verdict of Justice Fred Anyeagbunam in 1983 in a case filed by Senator Francis Arthur Nzeribe before his Tribunal “to restore his honour” after he was thrown out of the Senate for crossing from the NPP to the NPN. When I asked him to comment on the judgement, he retorted that “What do you want me to say? “I lost my case. I lost my money”. The same Nzeribe crossed from NPP to PDP in 2002 or thereabout following which I recalled the 1983 case in an interview by the NTA, to the suprise of Senators and embarrassment of Nzeribe. The Chairman Senate Information Committee, Senator Jonathan Zwingina said he was never aware of the judgement until I exposed it.
Even though I have had course to recall this judgement in the past as a journalist ( I’m not a lawyer) but the Abuja High Court sacking of the Ebonyi State Governor on Monday for crossing from PDP to APC has made a reference to Justice Fred Anyeagbunam case of precedence on the same moral question though in different situations necessary. Nzeribe was a Senator and Umahi a Governor who felt he was covered by the Constitution to do and undo.
But moral issue and spirit of the Constitution are common to the two cases. Where is the honour for Umahi by simply transferring his people mandate to the party they had rejected?
What Justice Inyang Ekwo has done by sacking Governor Umahi on moral ground and expanding the interpretation of section 308 to justify the spirit of the Constitution, is to return judiciary to the era of erudition and landmark judgements that have distinguished some Supreme Court Justices like Chukwudifu Oputa, Charles Dadi Onyeama and Kayode Eso,.
The celebrated British Jurist, Lord Denning was said to have in a ” Melodramatic way” defined Law as what the Judge says it is. By this an erudite and fearless judge should be able to go beyond technicalities which many lawyers and judges always regale in and destroy good cases. I’m happy that Prof. Tony Iredia, lawyer, administrator and former Director of information with National Electoral Commission has in the Arise TV on Tuesday night agreed with the judgement and challenged journalists to be asking questions from lawyers on the spirit of the Constitution instead of merely listening when regaling in technicalities.
I commend Justice Inyang for returning life into the judiciary. On their part, It is expected that both the Appeal and Supreme Courts would encourage a return to the status quo.
gboyegaamoboye@gmail.com
Culled from the Facebook page of Gboyega Amoboye