The founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, bickered Wednesday over Okorie’s call on Professor Mahmood Yakubu to resign as chairman of the electoral commission over alleged contempt of court.
Asking Yakubu to resign, Okorie stated that in a landmark judgment delivered by . Justice M. A. Madugu of the Federal Capital High Court 40, Bwari in Suit no. FCT/HC/CV/4068/2023 on November 9, 2023, found Chief Victor Oye (1st Defendant) and Professor Mahmood Yakubu (2nd Defendant) guilty of contempt of court in the matter of the APGA leadership dispute whereupon the contemnors refused to obey the orders of the Court handed down on them on May 10, 2023.
He said Justice Madugu, in his well-considered judgment, affirmed that it was well established in legal jurisprudence that court orders must be obeyed and respected.
Quoting the judge, Okorie said: “Parties to litigation are duty-bound to adhere to the directives of the court. Disobedience of court orders undermines the sanctity of the judiciary and the rule of law. The 1st and 2nd Respondents have committed contempt by disobeying the subsisting order of this court made on 10/5/2023, and I so hold.
“This impunity cannot continue. This political insanity has to stop. The acceptance of candidates by the 2nd Respondent that are products of the congress presided over by the 1st Respondent, Chief Victor Ike Oye, held on May 31, 2023, in defiance of the order of this court made on May 10, 2023, is undoubtedly an affront to the order of this court under review.
Having established the disobedience of the 1st Respondent and 2nd Respondent to the order of this court made on 10/5/2023, and since the purpose of committal proceedings is to ensure that the orders of the Court are upheld and respected, I hereby adopt a lenient view and order that the 1st and 2nd Respondents should purge themselves of contempt within 14 working days effective today, the 9th day of November, 2023.
“The case is hereby adjourned till 29/11/2023 to enable the respondents to purge themselves of the contempt or face the wrath of the law.”
Okorie said neither Professor Yakubu nor INEC have appealed against the judgment that found him guilty of contempt of court orders, “but curiously, Chief Victor Oye, on the 28th of November, 2023, managed to secure an order of the Court of Appeal restraining the FCT High Court from proceeding with the sentencing of the contemnors, which was to take place next day on the 29th of November, 2023. It is rare to arrest the sentencing of contemnors, who have been found guilty of contempt of court orders, but this is Nigeria, where anything is possible.
“Patriots like me will not stop speaking out until the mess in our country is resolved to a reasonable extent. I call on the Minister of Justice, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission, ICPC, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, the Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, pro-democracy organizations, and other well-meaning compatriots to demand the immediate resignation of Professor Yakubu as the Chairman of INEC. It is not only scandalous but utterly embarrassing and shameful that a candidate is allowed to remain as the chairman of INEC, which oversees the elections and democratic process in Nigeria. The impunity and unbridled arrogance of Professor Yakubu must be halted now to protect our multiparty democracy, he added.
INEC cautions Okorie against malicious attacks on Yakubu
Responding to OKorie’s call, Rotimi Oyakanmi, the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, cautioned the APGA leader against malicious attacks against the commission’s boss, Professor Yakubu.
Claiming that Okorie’s statement was mischievous, Oyekanmi, in a response, said: “The press release by Chief Chekwas Okorie is nothing but pure mischief. The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, is not in contempt of any valid court order.
“In fact, there would have been no need to respond to the said press release. However, for the benefit of unsuspecting members of the public, it is necessary to put the matter in its proper context.
“This is a matter involving the leadership of the APGA, of which Chekwas Okorie is not involved at all, but for reasons best known to him, he presented a twisted narrative to justify his unwarranted attack on the person of the Chairman of INEC. Unfamiliar with the facts, he claimed that “neither Professor Mahmood Yakubu nor INEC have appealed against the judgement that found him guilty of contempt.
“If Okorie had been diligent, he would have availed himself of the record of proceedings of the Court of Appeal (CA/ABJ/CV/724/2023) before making his spurious allegations.
“Nobody can be said to be in contempt of an order of a lower court when the matter is before a superior court and therefore subjudice. Okorie should be cautious when making malicious allegations of this nature.”
