By Raymond Nkannebe

As anxiety continues to build ahead of the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), it would appear some section of the society and predominantly supporters of at least one of the Petitioners at the PEPC have taken liberties in an unprecedented dimension which if unchecked, may potentially precipitate an outcome with implications for our national security.

Over the course of the last two weeks, a popular hashtag has surfaced on the social media space, namely #AllEyesOnTheJudiciary. This hashtag has achieved astronomical projection across the two dominant social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter; and have also made their way to the WhatsApp chat rooms.

The promoters of these obnoxious hashtag whilst purporting to advocate for a determination of the pending cases before the Election Petition Tribunals in line with the principles of justice and fairness, have somehow set for themselves a new scale and standard of justice; one that answers only to their subjective and selfish notion of that ageless concept.

According to these people whom I have had cause to describe as “internet bandits”, only a nullification of the result of the 2023 Presidential election by the Justices of the #PEPC and return of their preferred candidate qualifies as justice. Anything shorn of this amount to a subversion of justice. In other sense, their notion of justice is a one-way traffic.

One of the finest jurists to ever bestride our Judicial firmament is Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa. In one of his most celebrated judicial pronouncements, the Erudite Lord Justice (of blessed memory) deconstructed ‘justice’ as a three-way traffic: justice for the complainant; justice for the defendant and justice for the society at large. When one explores that deep philosophical expression further, it becomes evident that it anchors on the ageless principle of fair hearing which in itself is the soul of adjudication.

Thus, if the effectiveness of the judicial process were to be defined by how it meets the expectations of a Plaintiff or a Petitioner as it were, then it would have failed the fundamental test of Natural Justice which presupposes that all sides to a contest should be given an opportunity to present their cases, whilst the arbiter makes a determination one way or another based on what is demonstrated by the parties and the applicable law.

However, we are now living witnesses to a devilish campaign to dethrone these salutary principles orchestrated by some overzealous citizens who arrogate superior love of this country to themselves. They appear ready to bring down the country with them if the case they presented doesn’t go their way. They have threatened the Justices saddled with this historic assignment as well as members of their families. One has noted with great concern how the faces of members of the Hon. Justice Tsamanni-led panel of the PEPC have been plastered all over social media with all manner of invectives hurled at them. In doing so, they fail to understand that their desperate acts constitute an interference with the independence of the Judiciary which they would have abhorred them themselves; typical of their hypocritical character.

Whilst this rampaging crowd almost baying for blood continue in their madness, one has also noticed with great concern the conspiracy of silence by those who should rise in defense of the Judiciary: that last bastion of our democracy and cherished rule of law principles. I suspect that this suffused silence is not completely deliberate, but rather informed by the fear of offending or being on the wrong side of this headless mob who are ready to pick up as many ‘victims’ as possible on their tracks. And that is where it gets very disturbing.

Even more concerning is the fact they have found willing recruits amongst many members of the legal profession who have joined in this unprecedented campaign of calumny against the judiciary. Indeed, with the benefit of hindsight, one could argue that this monster we are now witnessing was itself begat by some of the Senior Lawyers of the Petitioners at the PEPC, who over the course of the trial, threw all professional decorum to the wind and persisted in the upbraiding of the judiciary in the series of press conferences they held in a manner that left so much to be desired of these respected colleagues who are supposed to be leaders of the Bar.

Yet, the point must be made that we must not surrender to the rehearsed antics of this group and their sponsors. In the view of the foregoing, I dare say that it is high time the Nigerian Bar Association; in its capacity as the Defender of the Judiciary rose in condemnation of this very detestable trend which strikes at the very foundation of the independence of the Judiciary and the integrity with which it must be received irrespective of the perceptions of some persons about some members of the Judiciary.

On numerous occasions, our judiciary has shown its capacity to deliver justice and have by the strength of their judgments shaped the contours of our democracy with great courage and conviction.

A situation where the lives of judicial officers and those of members of their families are being threatened on account of just one; out of the thousands of cases lying in the docket of our law courts is totally unacceptable and must be seen for what it is: an attempt to influence judicial outcomes through ‘digital militancy’.

I wish to end this submission by reiterating, as I have had cause to do on other fora, that no amount of intimidation, threats and blackmail will prevent their Lordships of the #PEPC and other Election Petition Tribunals from determining the issues before them outside the ambit of the law and so much of the facts demonstrated at the trial within the context of the sui generis nature of election petitions.

Those who present their cases before our law courts for adjudication must have implicit confidence in the judges to do so within the limits of the rules of procedure that caters to the interest of all parties, and the special skill of the judicial officer.

A Lawyer and Public Interest Analyst, Raymond Nkannebe, is of Ken Ahia, SAN & Associate.