Bello’s unrelenting battle with Kogi Chief Judge

By MUHAMMAD BASHIR

The war of attrition between the Kogi State executive arm, led by Governor Yahaya Bello, and the judicial arm, under the supervision of Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasir Ajanah, is in the public glare. But MUHAMMAD BASHIR in this analysis gives an insight into the possible reasons for the face-off and likely outcome.

There was a very strong affinity between Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello and his kinsman, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasir Ajanah in the early days of the Bello’s administration. Justice Ajanah is said to be a very diligent professional any time when it comes to judicial matters, irrespective of interests.

Coincidentally, many people failed to understand his neutral judicial disposition, believing in the existence of a veneer of one who always takes sides when an issue has to do with his kinsmen (the Ebiras) in the Central Senatorial District of Kogi State.

It would be recalled that in 2012, the Supreme Court had sacked five sitting governors, including Ibrahim Idris, whom the apex court ruled cannot extend their tenure beyond the eight years provided for by the constitution.

The five governors, Murtala Nyako, (Adamawa); Timipreye Silva, (Bayelsa), Magatakarda Wamaka, (Sokoto); Ibrahim Idris, (Kogi and Liyel Imoke of Cross Rivers State, had approached the court with an argument that their tenure was interrupted and therefore had to make up the period outside office. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), unlawfully excluded late Prince Abubakar Audu of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), from the 2007 gubernatorial election.

Of all the five governors, only Kogi State Governor (former), Ibrahim Idris was directly affected by the judgment since his tenure had already expired, while others were asked to conduct election before their tenure came to a close

However, the court eventually struck out the matter as unlawful exclusion from the 2007 ballot, filed by the late Prince Audu. A rerun election had to be conducted six months after and former Governor Ibrahim Idris, having taken an oath as governor-elect for the second term, had to vacate his seat giving room for the then Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Clarence Olafemi, who was sworn in as acting governor by Justice Nasir Ajanah.

The situation irked Idris, whose tenure ended in 2011, to approach the court for interpretation on whether he should continue in office to make up the months he had been out of as governor, even when an election was conducted and there was a governor-elect from his party PDP.

There was a gubernatorial election on November 23 2011 that produced Idris Wada as governor in waiting. However, the Supreme Court decision created a vacuum in the state, which led to a legal confusion on who was to take over as governor. There were divergent opinions and one was that the governor-elect, Idris Wada be sworn in immediately since he was already governor in waiting, while another school of thought argued that the Speaker, Abdullahi Bello should take over the Lugard House as acting governor.

At that point, as the Chief Judge, Justice Ajanah was said to have been confused on who to swear in. Idris was said to have insisted that his predecessor, Idris Wada (his kinsman) from Kogi East be sworn in, since he was the governor-elect. However, Justice Ajanah went ahead to swear in Abdullahi Bello (his kinsman) from Kogi Central, alluding the fact that the Supreme Court ruled that another gubernatorial election be conducted.

Ajanah administered the oath of office on Abdullahi Bello, at the state high court, while the then President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Ibrahim Atadoga from Kogi East, swore in his kinsman Idris Wada the same day, hence two governors emerged in Kogi State.

After the demise of the APC governorship candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu during the 2015 gubernatorial election, Kogi State fell into another conundrum when Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, his running mate approached the court that he should be sworn in as governor since he co-owned the party’s governorship ticket with his late boss. But the Supreme Court declared that the party, All Progressives Congress owned the votes and the ticket and therefore decides who should inherit the votes.

Hence, Governor Yahaya Bello, who came second in the APC governorship primaries, was sworn in as governor by Justice Ajanah, who, besides executing the Supreme Court decision happened to have a blood relationship with the governor.

After this, the relationship between the duo became stronger, since he swore in his brother in against all odds. Hence, the governor extended concession to the judiciary under Justice Ajanah by exempting staff of the state judiciary from the screening exercise for the state civil servants since February 2016.

Workers in the state judiciary at that period had been receiving their salaries as and when due, when other state workers were going through a gruesome screening exercise without pay. This was going on, until the relationship between the duo became sour, when the governor was alleged to have lobbied the state judiciary to send his arch-political enemy, Senator Dino Melaye to prison.

But the Chief Judge, who is known to be firm in administering judgment granted bail to Senator Melaye on health grounds, saying that a person on a sick bed cannot stand trial, “that is why it is called standing trial,” Ajanah ruled.

By granting Senator Melaye bail, Justice Ajanah was said to have betrayed the governor’s ambition to send his political enemy to prison, and that could have led to the war of Ebira brothers. But an aide of the governor said the allegation of complicity against Melaye is in the realm of conjecture.

The governor in his quest to fire back his missile, stopped the salaries of judiciary workers, running into 10 months as it stands, directing that screening through table payment be carried out in the judiciary too. The State Chairman of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Comrade Waniko, while leading a protest lamented that his union members were last paid their legitimate salaries in June 2018.

However, the judiciary workers, following the intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC), will have to subject themselves to the governor’s directive by going through table payment.

The second missile which is facing legal contention is the removal of Justice Ajanah as Chief Judge, through the State House of Assembly, which is allegedly serving the interest of the executive arm.

As expected, the State Assembly was said to have heeded the executives call and recommended the outright sack of the state Chief judge for gross misconduct. Despite several outcries, the assembly went ahead to empower Governor Yahaya Bello through recommendation, to remove Justice Ajanah for alleged gross misconduct.

The recommendation was through the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Public Account which indicted the Kogi State High Court for financial breaches. The committee report also recommended that a punitive measures on indicted be carried out, to avoid reoccurrence.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Ahmed Mohammed, who is also the chairman House Committee on Public Accounts, alleged that the judiciary arm was reported to have expended its budget above the approved limits provided in some subheads as contained in the 2016 Appropriation Law to the sum of N7, 574, 850.00 without the approval of virement application.

The Committee chairman equally stated that the State Auditor-General reported that there was a non-deduction of withholding from a contract sum of N 2,000,000.00 paid to AB Enterprises which should have generated N100, 000.000 to the state government in the year under review contrary to the provisions of Chapter 2, Regulation 234 of the extant Financial Regulations.

“It was also reported by the State Auditor-General that Kogi State High Court made huge cash withdrawal to the tune of N 137,607,334.11. The cash was withdrawn from the High Court’s bank account in the year under review.

“This transaction breached the provisions of Chapter 6, Regulation 632 which stipulates that ‘the use of cash for payment is hereby prohibited except as provided in regulation 631,’” the committee chairman added.

Also in the recommendation, the Chief Registrar of the State High Court should be referred to the Kogi State Judicial Service Commission for disciplinary actions for gross misconduct.

But in a stiff reaction, the Kogi State judiciary described the efforts of the executive to remove Justice Nasir Ajanah from office as dangerous and ill-advised. In a statement signed by its Senior Information Officer, Saqeeb Saeed, it argued that the matter is already before the National Judicial Council (NJC), and there was a subsisting court order restraining Governor Bello from removing the Chief Judge.

The statement, therefore, advised Governor Bello not to do anything that will plunge the state into an unnecessary constitutional crisis.

“Events in the last few days have made it necessary for the Kogi State Judiciary to issue this press statement. The Kogi State Judiciary is aware of clandestine moves by His Excellency, the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to use the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly to illegally remove the Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Nasiru Ajanah (CON), from office over some trumped up allegations.
“This dangerous and ill-advised move is coming from the Executive in spite of the fact that the matter is now before the National Judicial Council (NJC) and there is a subsisting court order restraining the Governor from doing so.

“The governor is advised not to do anything that will plunge the state into an unnecessary constitutional crisis. Rather he should obey the rule of law and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which he swore to uphold,” the statement read.

The governor had, however, detached himself from the impasse, saying that he had no hand in the removal of the Chief Judge. But the governor’s second missile, eventually met a strong wall, as a State High Court sitting in Koton Karfe, dismissed the State Assembly recommendations for the Chief Judge to be removed.

The Kogi High Court, presided by Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, set aside and nullified the April 2 resolution of the State House of Assembly calling for removal of the State Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, for gross misconduct.

The court also set aside the resolution of the House in the recommending Alhaji Yahaya Adamu, Chief Registrar of the state High Court, to the state Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for disciplinary action for gross misconduct.

Justice Ajileye, in his ruling on motion number HC/KK02M/201 in the suit number HC/KK/11CV/2018 brought by the Chief Judge, Ajanah and Chief Registrar of the State High Court, Alhaji Yahaya Adamu, said he had come to the “irresistible conclusion” that the resolution of the House arising from its sitting of April 2, recommending removal or stepping aside of the Chief Judge for gross misconduct must not be allowed to stand.

He said that the resolution, having been reached in “clear violation of the orders of this court, it is, accordingly hereby set aside and declared a nullity.”

The judge further set aside and declared a nullity in the same vein, the recommendation of the Chief Registrar, Adamu, to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for disciplinary action over alleged gross misconduct. He said that the Kogi State House of Assembly is subject to the rule of law and it is required to obey and not break the law.

“With the positive orders of this court made on December 13, 2018 and reinforced on December 18, 2018, Kogi State House of Assembly ought not to have done anything to give the impression that it was trying to preempt the decision of this court.

“It is tragic that the respondents whose primary responsibility is to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Kogi State would be the same institution to be associated with violation of court orders.”

The jurist continued that it was his considered view that the action of the House in sitting on the matter and issuing a resolution for effect was “a blatant and an impudent act which ought not to be tolerated or encouraged in a democratic setting.

“It was an audacious and arbitrary display of naked power, an act that is contrary to all constitutional and democratic tenets,” the jurist added.

While that subsists, a civil society group –the Federation of Lawyers in Active Democracy (FLAD) recently accused Governor Bello of ordering the severance of water and electricity supply to the official residence Justice Nasir Ajana as part of the pressure to force him out of office. The governor’s action, according to the group, is aimed at intimidating and overawing Ajana because he is not in the good books of the state government.

Reacting to recent resolution of the State House of Assembly demanding the removal of the Chief Judge from office, FLAD President Arome Husseini said the motion defied logic.

The statement dismissed as “null and void and of no effect whatsoever” what it described as yet another instance of Governor Bello’s intolerance of democratic institutions, the separation of power and the checks and balances guaranteed by the constitution.

The group said the 1999 Constitution as amended Section 271 ( 1) 292 (1) (ii) (a) and the third Schedule paragraph 21 part 1 of the constitution which provide for the removal of a Chief Judge of a state were totally ignored by the House.

It suspected that the Chief Judge’s travails may have begun on the day he resisted the governor’s alleged interference in a criminal case involving a ‘controversial federal legislator’ who was granted bail.

It said: “A Speaker that was illegally installed was equally forced to resign within one year after he complained during public sitting that Governor Bello was harassing and intimidating him!

“In both cases, utilities like water, electricity and communications were severed from the official residences of these Speakers.”

Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned members of the Kogi State House of Assembly against allegedly allowing Governor Bello to push them to remove Justice Ajana.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, who is an indigene of the state said: “The recommendation of the Kogi State House of Assembly for the removal of the state Chief Judge is therefore a misdirected shadowboxing, which not only exposes the state legislature to public ridicule but also reinforces impressions and allegations in the public space that it has been compromised to execute ignoble schemes of the state executive.”

But the Director General Media and Publicity to the governor, Kinsley Fanwo had said there is no personal battle/problem between Bello and Ajani, contrary to insinuations, alleging Ajanah rift between the Executive and the Judiciary does not exist in fact but a contrivance of the Chief Judge and the Chief Registrar.

“Most Judges in Kogi State can attest to the deep respect and atmosphere of conviviality which the Executive Governor of Kogi State has created for the discharge of their judicial duties. The Chief Judge and the Chief Registrar do not want to be accountable to any other organ of Government contrary to the principles of checks and balances,” he said.

Fanwo stressed that the Executive is only insisting on the table payment exercise for payment of salaries of only a few months to judicial staff while other months are paid to the heads of Courts for disbursement to workers via their accounts.

“The Chief Judge and the Chief Registrar, however, constituted themselves into ‘the judiciary’ in Kogi State and unilaterally decided that ‘the judiciary’ would not participate in a state government and labour approved exercise. One begins to wonder how the payment of judiciary staff via cheques (a purely administrative matter) coupled with biometric capturing of state judicial workers for record and planning purposes impinges upon the independence of the judiciary or separation of powers,” Fanwo said.

He, therefore, insisted that the administration of Alhaji Bello has not only steered clear of the Judiciary in the matters of its independence but has bent over backwards to promote same.

Though the governor’s aides have dissociated him from the travails of the Chief Judge, but with the seeming collapse of the second missile, observers wonder whether a third one is in the offing, especially now that he has his plate full of issues, including the struggle to get his party’s automatic ticket to run for second term, come November second this year.