…Uzodimma’s Victory fingered
A retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, has disclosed that some members of the apex court were placed on a United States visa ban following a controversial judgment that she said was widely misinterpreted.
Abba-Aji made the revelation on Friday during a valedictory session held in her honour as she retired from the Supreme Court upon attaining the mandatory age of 70.
Although she did not identify the specific judgment, Vanguard reports that the visa restriction was linked to the Supreme Court’s January 14, 2020, decision that removed Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Imo State governor and declared Senator Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the 2019 governorship election.
Reflecting on her years on the bench, Abba-Aji said some of the challenges she encountered presented opportunities to uphold justice despite the consequences.
“My time on the Supreme Court bench was filled with challenges, some of which have served as additional opportunities to stand firm on the side of justice, regardless of the consequences.
“One of such challenging judgments was widely misinterpreted and led to a travel ban to the United States of America being imposed on all members of the panel, a ban which still holds today.”
The seven-member Supreme Court panel that delivered the judgment included Abba-Aji and the current Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
In its decision, the apex court overturned the concurrent judgments of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed Ihedioha’s victory.
The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw Ihedioha’s Certificate of Return and issue a fresh one to Uzodimma, whom it declared the validly elected governor.
The judgment followed the court’s computation of results from 388 polling units, representing 213,295 votes, which were tendered before the election tribunal by a police officer who testified as PW-54 but were reportedly disowned by INEC.
After adding the votes, the Supreme Court declared Uzodimma the candidate who secured the majority of lawful votes cast in the election.
The ruling generated widespread controversy and protests, particularly over the inclusion of the disputed polling-unit results in the final computation.
Other members of the panel, led by the then CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, were Justices Sylvester Ngwuta, Kayode Ariwoola and Amiru Sanusi.
Ihedioha subsequently sought a review of the judgment, arguing that it occasioned a miscarriage of justice, but the Supreme Court dismissed his application.
Only Justice Centus Nweze dissented, insisting that Ihedioha should be reinstated and describing the judgment that removed him as a nullity.
Nweze also warned of the long-term implications of the ruling for Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence.
“This decision of the Supreme Court will continue to haunt our electoral jurisprudence for a long time to come,” he warned.
At Friday’s valedictory session, Abba-Aji said the visa restriction and other inconveniences were part of the sacrifices she made in the course of judicial service.
“Such inconveniences were a small price to pay to preserve the chastity of justice,” she added.
Meanwhile, Kekere-Ekun praised the retiring justice for her decades of service to the judiciary, highlighting her career progression from Clerical Assistant to Assistant Registrar, Acting Registrar and Higher Registrar after joining the judicial service in Borno State in 1973.
She said Abba-Aji served at various divisions of the Court of Appeal in Benin, Abuja, Ekiti, Owerri and Kaduna after her elevation to the appellate court on September 22, 2004, before her appointment to the Supreme Court on January 8, 2019.
The CJN also described Abba-Aji’s career as an important part of the evolution of women’s representation in the Nigerian Judiciary.
“For many of us, particularly the women who have entered the Nigerian Judiciary in more recent years, Hon. Justice Abba-Aji’s career is part of the story of how the place of women in our Judiciary has evolved.
“Long before the presence of women on the Bench became as familiar as it is today, she was already serving, quietly establishing a record of competence and service.
“Hon. Justice Abba-Aji’s journey into the legal profession began at a time when the professional landscape was very different from what we know today.
“Her leadership roles in the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria and, particularly, her service as President of the National Association of Women Judges Nigeria (NAWJN), demonstrate that her interest in the progress of women was not merely incidental to her career.
“She contributed to creating a space in which other women could find their voices and assume positions of leadership,” the CJN added.
