Ekiti PDP accuses chief judge of bias

EKITI State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Chief Judge Justice Ayodeji Daramola, of siding with the All Progressives Congress (APC). Lawyers representing the APC, have called for the relocation of the Election Petition Tribunal outside Ado-Ekiti, because of insecurity. Former Minister of Justice Chief Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN), in a letter to the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, said justice cannot be served in an atmosphere of intimidation, as witnessed during the attacks on courts in Ado-Ekiti last week. The Ekiti PDP alleged that the CJ is backing a secret plan to prevent Governor-elect Ayodele Fayose, from being inaugurated on October 16. The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, said the chief judge deliberately amplified what happened in the High Court, Ado-Ekiti last week Monday and Thursday, blaming it on Fayose and shutting down courts to achieve a pre-determined political agenda. Oluwawole, who said fracas in political cases during court proceedings were not new in the country, cited instances of the Election Tribunal sittings in Ondo State that was disrupted on March 18, 2013, when supporters of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Labour Party (LP) clashed with four persons being severely injured. He also said on January 23, 2012, supporters of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) clashed at the premises of the governorship election petitions tribunal in Lokoja, Kogi State, with one person shot and three others injured. The statement added: “The same also happened on January 6, 2012, when persons were injured in a commotion between the supporters of Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State and his predecessor, Alhaji Akwe Doma, at the Court of Appeal in Makurdi. “In all the three instances mentioned above, courts in the states were not shut while no judge came out of his chamber to ‘warn’ the party supporters.” On the alleged assault on Justice John Adeyeye last Thursday, he said it was reported that the judge told Fayose, who came to attend the tribunal sitting, to warn his thugs. “That reportedly took place at the court premises, not inside Justice Adeyeye’s chamber or court. “Firstly, Justice Adeyeye reportedly addressed law- abiding Nigerians, who came to the court to observe proceedings as thugs. Isn’t that wrong? “Secondly, Fayose was in the court premises, not inside any courtroom. Meaning that Justice Adeyeye came out of his chamber or court to address people who were possibly being unruly at the court. “Now we wish to ask: Is it the duty of a judge to check unruly crowd in the court premises? Definitely no! “Thirdly, if indeed Justice Adeyeye was assaulted by the ‘unruly crowd,’ was he assaulted because they knew he was a judge? Was Justice Adeyeye carrying identification as a judge on his head? Definitely no! “Most importantly, who says the APC government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi could not have planted some hoodlums in the crowd and the hoodlums set by the state government were the ones who assaulted the judge? “In Ondo, Kogi and Benue states that I mentioned above, did the chief judge of any of the state shut down the courts? “Obviously, the Ekiti Chief Judge shut down courts for reasons other than what happened in the Ado-Ekiti High Court premises last week Monday and Thursday. Only Justice Daramola can tell Nigerians why he shut down the courts in Ekiti because even when gunshots boomed in Lokoja on January 23, 2012, the Kogi State Chief Judge did not shut the courts,” the statement claimed. On last Monday’s incident, the PDP said neither Fayose nor the PDP as a party ordered anyone to invade the court. It said all the efforts geared towards stopping Fayose from being inaugurated have failed “and only God knows who will get burnt by the fire ignited by those who were rejected by Ekiti people, but wanted to retain power, using the judiciary.” The party insisted on a thorough probe of the Ekiti judicial crisis to bring those found culpable to book. Lawyers seek tribunal’s relocation Lawyers representing the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ekiti governorship election petition have requested the shift of the Triunal’s sitting from Ado-Ekiti following attacks on courts last week in the state capital. According to them, the incidents, in which Governor-elect Ayo Fayose has been indicted, have made it difficult for justice to be served without fair or favour. In a letter of request “as a matter of urgency” written to President of the Court of Appeal Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, by Chief Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN) on behalf of himself and two other senior lawyers Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) – all representing the petitioners — the lawyers said “the citadel of justice has been turned into a war front” given what happened and the statements credited to Fayose thereafter where he said among others that “nobody, no matter how highly-placed, would remove me cheaply.” Olujimi after recalling how the counsel were attacked by thugs that invaded the court premises and how a judge was physically assaulted, said “judges, lawyers, witnesses and stakeholders are not safe. In such atmosphere, justice can never be done. Our commitment as professionals in the temple of justice does not require us to knowingly expose our lives to the danger of annihilation. We do not believe that the system should knowingly expose any judge, lawyer and witnesses to obvious risks.” In the letter dated September 26, the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minster of Justice, said there is a precedent if the petition had to be moved out of Ado Ekiti. He recalled that the latest was the movement in 2001 of the Borno State Governorship Election petition to Abuja due to the security situation there. The case is slated for hearing on October 14.