Civil Groups Petition NJC To Probe Court Of Appeal President & Three Justices Over Conduct In Plateau Verdicts.

A coalition of four civil rights organizations, Open Justice Alliance (OJA) has asked the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, over alleged gross abuse of the Revised Judicial Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2016.

Other Justices of the Appellate Court demanded to be probed are Oluwayemisi Wimmiams-Dawodu, Abdulaziz Waziri, and Okon Abang.

A statement by Rachael Adio, Communications Associate of Citizens’ Gavel, a member of the OJA said the coalition expressed its deep concern regarding the decisions handed down by the Court of Appeal, led by the aforementioned justices, which resulted in the removal of over 16 candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who participated in the 2023 elections in Plateau State.

OJA said, “This action is particularly disconcerting as it contradicts established legal principles, including the non-justiciability of issues related to the nomination of political party candidates, as established in previous Supreme Court decisions.

“Barely two weeks after dismissing 16 PDP lawmakers, the same panel of Justices, on November 19 2023, removed the incumbent Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, on similar grounds. Notably, the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, who empanelled the Justices, failed to address what appears to be a judicial departure from the doctrine of stare decisis, raising concerns about her role in the controversial decisions.

“The Supreme Court later overturned the decisions of the Appellate Court, describing them as “perverse.” Justice Inyang Okoro, who presided over the five-member panel of the Supreme Court, emphasized that the issue of nomination is exclusively the internal affairs of a political party and is not justiciable.”

Adio said the petition to the NJC raised concerns about the perceived motivations behind the Appellate Court’s decisions.

“The alliance also finds Justice Abdulaziz Waziri’s public statement during the appeal of Governor Mutfwang, where he allegedly commented on the lack of political structures of the PDP, to be in violation of the Revised Judicial Code of Conduct.

“In light of these concerns, the Open Justice Alliance urges the NJC to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the actions of the Justices involved. The alliance seeks a determination of the propriety of their conduct and calls for appropriate sanctions if culpability is established”, she said.