Ekiti Election Petition Tribunal moved to Abuja Hearing begins Tuesday except there is a last minute change, the Ekiti State election Petition Tribunal trying the petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the victory of Governor Ayodele Fayose in the 21st June governorship election in the state has been relocated to Abuja. A competent judiciary source confirmed this to the Saturday Tribune on Friday, citing security concerns for the relocation. Saturday Tribune also learnt that the inaugural sitting of the Justice Mohammad Sirajo-led panel in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would take place on Tuesday. The immediate past governor of the state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, had moved to relocate the tribunal and the court hearing the eligibility suit against the new governor outside of the state in the wake of the judicial crisis that recently rocked the state. While Ilorin was reportedly favoured by Fayemi’s administration, our sister publication, the Nigerian Tribune, had exclusively reported Abuja as the likely choice for the judiciary leadership. President of the Court of Appeal is statutorily empowered to appoint members of election petition tribunals and can move their base when necessary, with the approval of the Chief Justice of Nigeria. However, the court hearing the eligibility suit is to continue sitting in Ado-Ekiti since it is a state high court. It was learnt that a combination of factors led to the approval for relocation. Saturday Tribune gathered that the main consideration for the relocation was the need to ensure total independence and neutrality of the panel members in the face of crisis of confidence between the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodele Daramola and new governor; Fayose. The usual practice is to send judges appointed as tribunal members to states outside of theirs and even geo-political zones. It was reportedly reasoned that if the tribunal was allowed to continue sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the judicial-cum-political crisis in the state might be inadvertently extended to it. The controversial provision of security on the premises of the state high courts was also said to have influenced the relocation approval. The police leadership had said that it provided security as demanded by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in the wake of alleged attacks on two judges in the state judiciary. The judiciary leadership in the state, however, claimed that the security officers prevented the courts from sitting. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the court remained shut despite Daramola’s directive opening them because workers were on strike. With the tribunal members not from the state, it was gathered that the judiciary leadership in Abuja reasoned that it was better to insulate them from the security controversy and allegations of partiality and partisanship flying between Fayose and Daramola, by moving them out. The sitting of the tribunal in Ado-Ekiti was always a security issue which the judiciary leadership reportedly felt would not be sustainable in the face of the volatile political situation in the state. The alleged inability of policemen to contain the crowd that reportedly came with Fayose during his first appearance at the tribunal was said to have further convinced the decision-makers that Ado-Ekiti had become unsuitable for smooth operations of the tribunal. Another factor said to be responsible was the strike action by workers in the state, protesting the alleged non-payment of their salaries by Fayemi, which reportedly hampered smooth operations of the tribunal. The strike action was called off moments after Fayose was inaugurated as governor.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 09:42:43 +0000
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