Recently, the whole world witnessed a scenerio at the Supreme Court of Nigeria in which the court allowed emotions to take the better of its articulation of the law, when it held in three political cases, that it had no jurisdiction to review its earlier judgments whatever the magnitude of the injustice inflicted. It held further that the Court’s jurisdiction to review its earlier judgments is restricted to correction of clerical errors or mistakes.

For daring to call upon the Court to review its judgment in the recently held Bayelsa Governorship election the Apex Court condemned, fined and penalised two senior and distinguished lawyers.

I was shocked when I ran into a most recent judgment of the Supreme Court, where the court gave ten (10) circumstances when it can review its decisions. The case is Stanbic IBTC Bank v. LGC Ltd (2020) 2 NWLR (Pt. 1707) 1 at Pg. 17

The judgment was delivered as recently as 17th July, 2019. This is what the court said, per Abba Aji, JSC:

I have taken time to garner the circumstances that this court càn set aside its own judgment. By and large, this court has the power and leeway to set aside its judgment, and rehear same under these circumstances:

1. Where there is clerical mistake in the judgment or order;

2. Where is an error arising from accidental slip or omission;

3. Where there arises the necessity of carrying out its own meaning and to make its intention plain;

4. Where any of the parties obtained judgment by fraud or deceit

5. Where such a decision is a nullity;

6. Where it is obvious the court was misled into giving the decision under a wrong belief that the parties consented to it;

7. Where judgment was given without jurisdiction;

8. Where the procedure adopted was such as to deprive the decision or judgment of the character of a legitimate adjudication;,

9. Where the writ or application was not served on the other party or there is denial of fair hearing

Where the decision/judgment is contrary to public policy and will perpetuate injustice

Queries:

(a). Now, in the light of this elaborate decision, what did the senior lawyers do wrong?

(b). Can we say, in all sincerity, that the Supreme of Nigeria forgot this elucidating judgment within a space of seven months?

(c). Was the penalty of N60m imposed on the two lawyers a personal vendetta?

(d). How justifiable was the fine?

(e). Why did the court not impose fines/penalities on lawyers that appeared before it with similar applications within the same week?

My answers are: politics, politics and politics. Politics has destroyed and will continue the Judiciary of Nigeria.

Please share, so that lawyers will know the true position of the law. Supreme Court can revist its previous judgments. That is the position in Commonwealth countries around the world, inçluding our neighbouring Ghana.

Adebisi Adeniyi, Esq.
Legal practitioner.