Dino Melaye, a disgrace to the Senate - Tinubu

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016 — 41
By Onozure Dania
HOW do you see the move
by the Senate to commence
the process of amending the 2010
Electoral Act to pave way for early
primaries to strengthen electoral
process?
This is a welcome development
which is long overdue. Nigerians
have been clamouring for the
amendment of the Electoral Act.
Even Nigerians in the diaspora
have added their voice to the cry.
Their inclusion in the process would
be a positive development for many
reasons.
First of all it will represent true
democracy and full inclusion of all
Nigerian citizens stricto sensu.
However, the amendments should
not only be focused on party
primaries. There should be a holistic
amendment of the Act. Before the
2015 general election, the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, submitted
proposals to the National Assembly
for amendment of some sections of
the Act, which it said, were making
its works “ambiguous and
confusing,” especially in dealing
with the antics of political parties and
other stakeholders. I believe the time
has come to take another look at the
Act.
Apart from this amendment, are
there any other amendments you
envisage that the Senate should
look into?
The National Assembly recently
kick started the process of
amending the constitution for the
fourth time by inaugurating
constitutional amendment
committees to oversee the process
which I believe is a step in the right
direction. Going by the various
security, economic and sociopolitical
issues confronting the
country, there is no gain saying that
this is coming at the right time.
Yearnings and
aspirations
The National Assembly should be
looking at amendment which will
grant some measure of autonomy
and strengthen key institutions that
support democracy such as the
Courts, INEC, the Police, ICPC,
EFCC and other key institutions. I
will like to add that in carrying out
the much needed Constitutional
amendment, the National Assembly
should take into consideration the
yearnings and aspirations of
Nigerians and also bear in mind
the need to cut down the cost of
governance in the country.
Can the Supreme Court reverse
itself?
We are final not because we are
infallible, rather we are infallible
because we are final. – The late
Justice Oputa.
This memorable quote by the late
Justice Chukwudifu Oputa speaks
volume about the powers of the
Supreme Court. There is no power
in the Supreme Court to set aside
or review its own judgment given
in the same case. The only
exception relates to correction under
the slip rule, which cannot be
regarded as a review properly so
called. Thus, the Supreme Court
may revisit its judgment under
Order 8 Rule 16, Supreme Rules to
Dafe Akpedeye SAN
correct clerical errors or omissions or
gabs to give meaning to the
judgment or decision of the court and
not to vary it. This is without prejudice
to the inherent power of the Supreme
Court to set aside its judgment in
appropriate cases when; the
judgment is obtained by fraud or
deceit either on the court or by one
or more of the parties.
Such a judgment can be
impeached or set aside by means of
an action which may be brought
without leave, or where the
judgment is a nullity. A person
affected by an order of court which
can properly be described as a nullity
is entitled ex debito justitiae to have
it set aside, and when it is obvious
that the court was misled into giving
judgment under a mistaken belief
that the parties had consented to it.
For example, the case of Johnson v
Lawanson (1971) 7 NSCC 82 is
regarded as the trail-blazing case in
which the Supreme Court exercised
Petroleum Act is doing what PIB will do — Nwokedi
By Dayo Benson
AMID
lingering
controversy over the
proposed Petroleum Industry Bill,
PIB, which is currently before the
National Assembly, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Uche
Nwokedi, has stated that there
was nothing PIB would do for the
country that the Petroleum Act
was not doing at the moment.
The senior lawyer who
socialises in the Oil and Gas Law
spoke at a media interactive
session in Lagos. According to
him, “What is it suppose to do that
is not being done at present by
the petroleum act?”
Speaking on why refineries
across the country are not
working, he pointed out that “the
problem is not a legal issue but it
is a problem that has defied
Supreme Court cannot set aside
own judgment—Akpedeye, SAN
Mr. Dafe Akpedeye, SAN, was former Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice in Delta State between 2007 and 2009.
He is a law graduate from the University of Lagos and was
called to the bar in 1984. He obtained his Masters in Law at
Harvard Law School 1985. While in the United States, he
practiced with White & Case Law Firm, Avenues of Americas,
New York. Back in Nigeria, Akpedeye became a lecturer at the
University of Lagos in 1985. He later founded Akpedeye & Co.
He is currently a lecturer at Delta State University. In this
interview, he spoke on the process of amending the 2010
Electoral Act, the composition of the National Judicial Council
and other sundry issues. Excerpts
the power to overrule itself. Coker
J.S.C. delivering the court’s
judgment held that “when the court
is faced with the alternative of
perpetuating what it is satisfied is
an erroneous decision which was
reached per incuriam and will, if
followed, inflict hardship and
injustice upon the generations in
the future or of causing temporary
disturbances of rights acquired
under such a decision, I do not
think we shall hesitate to declare
the law as we find it.” Again in
Olorunfemi v Asho the Supreme
Court set aside its judgment
delivered in January 8, 1999 on the
ground that, it failed to consider the
respondents cross–appeal before
allowing the appellant’s appeal.
Panel of
Justices
The court then ordered that the
appeal be re-heard de novo by
another panel of Justices of the
Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has been
inundated with appeals to review
its decision given in the same case
and there has been a consistent
refusal on the part of the court to act
as an appeal court over itself. A case
in point is that of Dr Andy Uba, who
had earlier gone to the Supreme
Court to ask for the revalidation of
his alleged victory at the April 14,
2007 governorship election and
return him to office after the Supreme
Court threw out his case,
approached a seven man panel of
the court to get the court to set aside
its judgment which terminated his
Uche Nwokedi
solution.” Commenting on why
it was difficult to secure
judgement against major oil
companies operating in the
country, he explained that “major
oil companies are thorough and
very detailed, they are always
well prepared.”
two weeks tenure as the Governor
of Anambra State in 2007.
The court in its ruling delivered
by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria,
Justice Idris Kutigi, observed that
Dr. Uba’s attempt at luring the court
into setting aside its judgment
which was delivered on June 14,
2007 was a gross abuse of the court
process and maintained that there
must be an end to litigation.
This was again reaffirmed in the
case of Prof. Steve Torkuma Ugba
vs. Gebriel Torwua Suswam, where
the issue for determination was
whether, given the facts of the case,
the applicants satisfied the conditions
to warrant the Supreme Court to set
aside its earlier ruling.
The advantage of this stance, is
that it fosters stability, enhances
development of consistent and
coherent body of laws, preserves
continuity and manifests respect for
the past, assures equality of
treatment for litigants similarly
situated, spares the judges the task
of re-examining rules of law or
principles with each succeeding
case and finally it affords the law a
desirable measure of predictability.
The composition of the National
Judicial Council, NJC, has been
seen by many lawyers as
unconstitutional. Do you share this
view?
The National Judicial Council is
one of the bodies created by virtue
of Section 153 of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria to insulate the judiciary
from the whims and caprices of the
executive; thus guarantying the
independence of the judiciary. By
Reacting to insinuations that the
practice of Oil and Gas is elitist
and restricted to certain circles,
he pointed out that “there is no
special ingredient that make
people feel included or
excluded.” With the falling prices
of crude oil at the international
market, Nwokedi advised that the
country should develop other
minerals and reduce its
dependence on oil.
On the issue of Local Content
Act in the oil and gas sector, the
head of Nwokedi’s chamber, Mr
Ashimiu Ayodeji observed that
the Act has recorded a level of
success, but stressed that the
enforcement had not been
encouraging.
Nwokedi however, added that
the Act “is a capacity building
instrument.” He said that the
the provision of Paragraph 20 of Part
One of the Third Schedule to the
1999 Constitution as amended, the
National Judicial Council shall
comprise the following Members: -
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, who
shall be the Chairman; The next
most senior Justice of the Supreme
Court, who shall be the Deputy
Chairman; The President of the
Court of Appeal; five retired Justices
selected by the Chief Justice of
Nigeria from the Supreme Court or
Court of Appeal; the Chief Judge of
the Federal High Court; the
President, National Industrial Court;
five Chief Judges of State to be
appointed by the Chief Justice of
Nigeria from among the Chief
Judges of the States and of the High
Court of the Federal Territory, Abuja
in rotation to serve for two years;
one Grand Kadi to be appointed
by the Chief Justice of Nigeria from
among Grand Kadis of the Sharia
Courts of Appeal to serve in rotation
for two years; one President of the
Customary Court of Appeal to be
appointed by the Chief Justice of
Nigeria from among the Presidents
of the Customary Courts of Appeal
to serve in rotation for two years five
members of the Nigerian Bar
Association, NBA, who have been
qualified to practice for a period of
not less than 15 years, at least one
of whom shall be a Senior Advocate
of Nigeria, SAN, appointed by the
Chief Justice of Nigeria on the
recommendation of the National
Executive Committee of the
Nigerian Bar Association to serve
for two years and subject to reappointment:
Provided that the five members
shall sit in the Council only for the
purposes of considering the names
of persons for appointment to the
superior courts of record; and two
person not being Legal
Practitioners, who in the opinion of
the Chief Justice of Nigeria, are of
unquestionable integrity Going by
the current membership of the NJC,
I fail to see the unconstitutionality
of its composition.
indigenous oil companies had
done well because they were
responsible for 10 percent of
production. The Senior Advocate
who is also the publisher of
Nigerian Oil and Gas cases in
Nigeria said that the legal
profession had done well in the
country and it has played the role
of the mediator. He commended
the outgoing president of the
Nigerian Bar Association, NBA,
Mr Augustine Alegeh, SAN,
whom he said had done well and
urged the incoming NBA
president should chart his own
course, saying that there must be
capacity building for lawyers.
“For instance, it addresses the
issue of who the oil company
would pay compensation to
between the community and the
land owners,” he said.