Ensuring The Neutrality Of The Judiciary

Amidst disputations and protestations by
political litigants over what they consid
ered questionable judgments by various election petitions tribunals, the nation’s Court of Appeal has, in the past two weeks, either upheld most of the vexatious rulings, or in certain instances,  even expanded the scope of distress hitherto complained about.
On the last count, the appeal court has annulled results of National Assembly elections in Rivers State, sacking all three senators, and also upheld the nullification of the State’s Governorship election, along with nearly all State House of Assembly elections results. In Akwa Ibom State,  the Tribunal had questioned elections in 18 local governments and ordered re-run in those areas but the appeal court, just three days ago, annulled results of the entire governorship polls, thus, sacking Governor Emmanuel Udom.
The account of Kogi  State elections, its controversies, eventual outcome and disturbing protests are still lingering. And in Bayelsa State, a re-run of one local government, Southern Ijaw, has been fixed for January 9, 2016. That was after allegations and complaints of State sponsored harassments and intimidation of the people by the military, the police and other armed forces, deployed to the state to keep the peace.
Curiously, all the affected states were those hitherto controlled by the major opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and which have forced many to question the neutrality of the judiciary and indeed the security institutions.
Happily, the Chief of Army Staff last week Wednesday, acknowledged receipt of petition alleging misconduct of its personnel in the Bayelsa elections and assured that anyone found culpable would be punished. Such an action is necessary, if for nothing else to avoid any further attempt to pitch the people against their own military, as seemed the case in Bayelsa, during the last elections.
But perhaps the most disturbing trend is the kind of rulings emanating from the courts these days. Not only are some very conflicting, others seem bent on snatching for complaints, electoral victories they could not get from the fields and from the people or decided on simply creating a political void with the mindset of reclaiming victory with the full weight and support of the present dispensation , through violent political grandstanding.
Knowing how expensive, violence prone and very polarising elections in Nigeria have become, it is pertinent that before electoral results are annulled, every court ought to be certain that it is indeed a last resort. It must not just be based on legal technically, considering the fact that its outcome on the wallet of the state and people would indeed be huge.
It is even worse if a set of people begins to harbour the mindset that it is being short-changed due to political beliefs and standing. Such feeling often rises to a boiling point, then, frustration and on the long run, contribute towards a total lack of faith in the judiciary.
That will indeed be dangerous because a country where, people lose faith in the judiciary would be a ready theatre for chaos and anarchy and rubbish the rule of law. It will also push them to seek alternative forms of conflict resolution, including jungle justice.
In a growing democracy, the judiciary ought to be the last hope of the common man. It should be the fiercest force to moderate the might of the strong and protect the weakness of the meek. It must avoid the tendency of upholding at all times, that might be right or that all victories must belong to the government in power.
This is why the recent comment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice  Mohammed is a bit reassuring. According to the CJN, Nigeria’s judicial system needs complete overhaul to ensure access, affordability, speedy justice delivery and peaceful conflict resolution.
What the CJN did not add however, is that the judiciary needs to rid itself of political judges and magistrates who seem bent on eroding its most desired and valued neutrality through conflicting rulings that make utter nonsense of the law. The CJN and the National Judicial Council (NJC) cannot pretend not to know of the existence of such judges. Now therefore, is the time for self probe necessary to save the judiciary from itself.
The judiciary, is like the salt of democracy without which the rule of law is doomed, anarchy reigns and conflict resolution ordered round the dictum of might being right. Nigeria will be doomed to get to that level. That is why all must act now,  not later, to save our democracy.