By Sunusi Umar Sadiq
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Three days ago the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered a judgment the most significant outcome of which is the emergence of Alhaji Ahmad Lawan, the current President of the Nigerian Senate, as the All Progressives Congress’ senatorial candidate representing Yobe North Senatorial District in the forthcoming general elections. The public is naturally and expectedly, too, thrown into an abyss of confusion because for all that is known, Senate President Lawan had obviously relinquished the senatorial seat he has been occupying since 1999 or thereabout when he contested for the APC presidential primaries some time last year.
Politics is the manifestation of the immaturity of mankind. The politicians across times and spaces have always been very shrewd and crafty. The popular virtues are turned upside down. Selfishness becomes a guiding principle. Deceit and manoeuvre are articles of faith. Self-interest take the position of justice, and fairness is something that is virtually and practically unknown. The end is all that matters. And anything is to the politician permissible to attain that end.
In a setting such as this, a heap of mess will surely pile up. And in a democratic setting, the unenviable onus of clearing such mess or at least containing it is placed on the judiciary. And the Nigerian courts, the Supreme Court especially, have been grappling with that onus, coming under public attacks and bashing every now and then.
Unfortunately for judges, they cannot come out to defend or even explain themselves. In this kind of situation, it is the lawyers, as the primary constituents of the judicature, that ought to be the sentries for the hallowed chambers. They should educate the people and enlighten them.
There are two things to consider in order to understand any given judgment: the facts of the case and the issues raised before the court. Without knowing these, the most honourable thing for anyone to do is to remain mute. Let me briefly state here the facts of the case at hand so as to understand the context and reason behind the supposedly controversial judgment delivered by the Apex Court.
For whatever reason, Senator Ahmad Lawan decided to give a shot at the country’s Number One Seat, the Presidency. He bought the presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms. It automatically followed that he had no further interest in keeping his senatorial seat. A Bashir Machina seized the opportunity. He aspired for Lawan’s seat and on 28th May, 2022, the primary election for that seat was conducted and Machina got it, on a gold platter some might say.
Some eleven days later, 8th day of June 2022, the APC had its National Convention and the presidential primary election was conducted. Lawan and twelve other aspirants lost to Bola Tinubu. As a cartoonist depicted it, Lawan had torn himself between presidency and senatorial seat. He ultimately lost both. Unknown to the cartoonist, as well as other Nigerians, the Senate President had his Plan B in the closet. In hatching the plan, the APC maintained that Danjuma Manga, the party’s official that chaired and officiated the 28th May primary election, was not authorized to do so by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). That primary election was therefore cancelled. Another was held on 9th June, 2022, less than twenty-four hours after Lawan lost his presidential bid! Nobody needs to be told that there was something amiss and shady here. It is crystal clear that a heap of mess has piled up.
Machina then decided to cry out against this apparent and obnoxious mess. He took his grievances to the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Damaturu Division. He prayed the court, among other things, to hold that the 28th May primary election that produced him was the only legitimate and valid primary election, and the other one that produced Lawan is fraudulent and therefore null and void. And this is the beginning of the intricacy, and the controversy.
The court is the repository of laws. It is the aggrieved party that will trigger the courts to invoke and apply those laws. For the litigant to succeed, therefore, they have to, firstly, be armed with hard facts that can be proved with acceptable evidence. And, secondly, such a litigant must, in ventilating the grievance, approach the court in strict compliance with the procedure provided for doing so. The success of every case depends on these two pillars.
The facts of some case may be straightforward. The Rules of Court provide for the commencement of such cases via Originating Summons. In using this mode, no witnesses need to be called. All that you need is to state what transpired in an affidavit and present the documents, if any, that strengthen the facts in issue, then invite the court to invoke appropriate laws and apply them to the case.
Some other cases are not this simple, more so when there is a criminal allegation. For such cases in which the facts in issue are contested, the Writ of Summons is the appropriate mode to be used in presenting one’s case to the law court. And whenever there is an allegation of crime, the standard of proof is that of beyond reasonable doubt. Witnesses must be in court in flesh and blood to be examined, cross-examined and, if need be, re-examined.
From 9th June, 2023, Machina’s Legal Team had up to 23rd of that month, a total of fourteen (14) days to build up their case and file same. I could imagine the mental race the team must have undergone to formulate the questions and the issues. Allegation of fraud is easy to come up with because Section 17 of the Penal Code intimates that ‘fraud’ is when one does something with the intent to deceive, and by means of such deceit to obtain some advantage for himself or another or to cause loss to any other person.
It is on that ground that Aspirant Machina went to the court challenging the return of Senator Lawan as the Senatorial Candidate as well as the validity of the primary election held on June 9th. Commencing the suit by Originating Summons is just one out of the several issues raised. But since the suit failed, the primary election it sought to be declared fraudulent and therefore null and void remains valid, and Senator Lawan consequently remains the rightful candidate.
The Supreme Court is not to blame. If anything, the Supreme Court is the scapegoat. The real culprits are Machina’s co-travellers, the politicians. After all, it is Machina’s own party that cancelled the primary election he had won. And it is also the party that took the matter up to the Supreme Court to ensure that Lawan remains its rightful and lawful flagbearer. The Supreme Court’s hands are tied as it is a court of law, not emotions.
Sunusi Umar Sadiq is a legal practitioner based in Kano State. He can be reached on sunusiumarandco@gmail.com, 08052923930.
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