A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jubril Okutepa, has strongly challenged claims that the Court of Appeal ordered the reinstatement of Osun State’s sacked local government chairmen, asserting that no such order was made.
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Speaking on Arise TV News Night on Tuesday, He also provided a thorough breakdown of the legal proceedings, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the rule of law and avoiding political interpretations of court judgments.
Okutepa firmly stated that the Court of Appeal did not order the reinstatement of the sacked local government chairmen. He challenged anyone to point out where such an order was made in the judgments.
“No court ordered the reinstatement of the council chairmen. I have taken my time to read the judgment of the Court of Appeal, and there is nowhere the reinstatement of the chairmen was ordered by the court.”
He explained that the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against the Federal High Court’s decision to nullify the 2022 local government elections. In the case involving the APC, the Court of Appeal struck out the case for lack of jurisdiction, while the APM’s appeal was dismissed due to procedural failures, such as the failure to compile records of appeal and file briefs of argument.
Okutepa emphasized that the Federal High Court’s judgment, which nullified the 2022 local government elections, remains valid and binding. He noted that the dismissal of the APC and APM appeals effectively affirmed the Federal High Court’s decision.
“The judgment of the Federal High Court, which was appealed against but which appeal was not pursued and which appeal had now been dismissed, remains the judgment of the court.”
He further clarified that the Federal High Court had declared the elections null and void due to procedural flaws and ordered the removal of the chairmen purportedly elected through the flawed process.
Okutepa highlighted that the Osun State High Court’s order directing the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to conduct fresh elections was in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling that local governments must be democratically run and not managed by caretaker committees.
“For me, that judgment is in line with the decisions of the Supreme Court that at any particular time, the local government must be democratically run and not with caretaker committees.”
Okutepa criticized politicians for misinterpreting court judgments to suit their political agendas. He urged them to abide by the consequences of their actions and respect the rule of law.
“Politicians will do well by learning to abide by the consequences of their actions. In any society where the rule of law is bastardized, you are likely to face what is called the state of nature, where the mighty becomes right.”
He also warned against giving political coloration to court judgments, stating that such actions undermine the integrity of the judiciary and the rule of law.
Okutepa issued a direct challenge to lawyers and commentators to read the judgments carefully and avoid misrepresenting the court’s decisions.
“I challenge any lawyer to come here and point to me where in the Court of Appeal’s judgments the reinstatement was ordered. The inference I gave for the subsequent dismissal of the case means that nothing has touched the second judgment of the Federal High Court.”
When asked whether the judiciary was aiding politicians in the crisis, Okutepa disagreed, stating that the judiciary had already determined the case by nullifying the flawed elections. He also dismissed claims that the Osun State government cherry-picked which court order to follow, noting that the state government acted in line with the Osun State High Court’s order to conduct fresh elections.
Okutepa reiterated that court judgments remain valid until set aside by a competent court. He urged politicians and the public to respect court orders and avoid making baseless claims about disobedience to court judgments.
“It does not lie in the mouth of anybody, including myself, to say that the judgment of the Federal High Court, which had been by implication of the dismissal of the appeal, affirmed by the Court of Appeal, remains a judgment of the court. No one can wake up and say they do not respect it because a null and void judgment, until set aside, remains a judgment of the court.”
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