DSS Crackdown: Judgements That Landed Judges In Trouble

As controversy continues to trail Friday night’s arrest of judges by officers of the Department of Security Service (DSS), indications have emerged that their judgments on Anambra, Zamfara, Kogi and Ekiti states governorship tussle may be the bone of contention.
The raids were carried out by agents of the DSS in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Gombe and the judges affected are of the Supreme Court and Federal High Court.
Daily Sun research has unveiled some of the cases the judges handled in recent times.
Excerpts:
Justice John Okoro of the Supreme Court
Anambra PDP leadership crisis:The INEC had filed a case to the Supreme Court seeking clarification on its ruling on the January 29, 2016 that reinstated Mr. Ejike Oguebego as the Chairman of the PDP, Anambra State chapter.
Following the judgment of the Supreme Court recognizing the Oguebego- led state Executives of the PDP in Anambra, controversy ensued as to whether some serving lawmakers from the state and National Assembly who were not on the list submitted by the Ejike Oguebego-led state executive had been sacked by the court.
INEC said it was confused because the beneficiaries of the judgment had approached it to issue certificate of return to them as lawmakers representing the state.
It was based on this that INEC approached the apex court for some clarifications.
But delivering ruling on the application, Justice John Okoro said the issue of primaries was not included in the appeal that came before it even as it was still pending at the High Court, before primaries were held.
He pointed that the Supreme Court had ruled severally that only the National Executive of a party can forward a list to INEC, and since INEC said it was the National Executive that did that, and not the caretaker committee, then there was no contest.
Justice Okoro said that the dispute on whether the Certificate of Return should be withdrawn from the serving lawmakers and given to the list of candidates of the Oguebego faction was not an issue before the court and that the court never made any pronouncement to that effect.
Mr Oguebego had sued on behalf of themselves and others including Mr Chris Uba, who is the Anambra South Senatorial zone’s candidate for the apex court to determine who were the legal and validly nominated candidates of the party to stand for the last general elections for the party in the state.
The faction said that going by the ruling, the list of nominated party candidates in the last election from the Oguebego-led executive of the Anambra PDP is the only one to be recognised by the INEC.
Zamfra guber tussle:Justice Okoro also delivered judgment affirming the election of Abdulazeez Yari of All Progressives Congress (APC) as governor of Zamfara State. Justice John Okoro-led panel of six judges held that the petition lacked substance.
Mr. Okoro said the appellant must also relate each of the documents to the specific area of the case in respect of which documents were tendered. He added that the appellant ought to have shown that figures, representing over-voting, if removed, would result in victory for the petitioner.
Kogi guber tussle:Justice Okoro was also one of the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court who sat on the disputed Kogi State governorship election that upheld Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello’s election. He delivered the lead judgment in the third appeal filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) read by Justice John Okoro, while Justice Musa Datijo Mohammed read the lead judgment in the appeal by the Labour Party (LP).
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of Supreme Court
Rev King’s death sentence:He delivered judgment in the celebrated case of the convicted General-Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Rev. King
In a unanimous judgment, a seven-man panel of Justices ‎of the apex court led by Justice Walter Onnoghen, upheld the death sentence that was earlier handed to Ezeugo by the Lagos State High Court.
Consequently, the court in its lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, dismissed the appeal the convicted clergy lodged before it.
Justice Ngwuta who noted that “the ‎facts of the case could have been lifted from horror film”, resolved all the 12 issues Ezeugo raised in his appeal.”
Ekiti Guber Case:Justice Ngwuta delivered the lead judgment in the disputed governorship election in Ekiti State, between the APC and Governor Ayo Fayose.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Ngwuta, the Supreme Court upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship election tribunal, which had both ruled that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit.
Justice Ngwuta dismissed the appeal filed by the petitioner-the APC and resolved all four arising from the appeal against Fayose’s victory.
Justice Ngwuta’s latest judgment was the Kogi State governorship election petition delivered on September 30, 2016 where the court gave its reasons for its decision affirming the election of Governor Yahaya Bello.
In the said judgment, the Supreme Court said it dismissed the appeal of James Faleke of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Kogi governorship elections because the reliefs sought were an “aberration, not known to law.’’