The streets of Calabar, the Cross Rivers state capital, were agog on Wednesday, October 22, following a protest demanding the immediate suspension of the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.
This Day reports that in a bid to make their points clear, the anti-Bulkachuwa protesters who were carrying placards and green leaves, dumped an empty coffin at the front of the tribunal.
They reportedly danced, sang and shouted anti-tribunal and anti-Bulkachuwa slogans around the casket.
The protesters said they were expressing their displeasure at the manner in which the National/State Assemblies Election Petitions Tribunal (Panel 1) was “delibrately” constituted to ensure that the petitions against the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) candidates never got justice.
The rejectionists who were operating under the aegis of the Cross River state Diocese of Wesley Synod International African Foundation, and the College of Clergies in Politics, Cross River state chapter, said they completely disagree and reject in totality all the alleged crafty and wicked purported legal academic blunders perfected during the tribunal’s six months sitting in Calabar.
They went on chanting demands for justice and the cancellation of all “illegalities”.
Dr Barthsy Ojoi Enebiene, the presiding Primate and Archbishop of Africa, led the non-violent protest.
Enebiene said: “A tribunal was set to hear the grievance s of the aggrieved but only to discover that there is a political and judicial conspiracy against Cross River State.
The political elements in Cross River are selfish and the PDP has helped to destroy this state. Even present administration has inherited same. We are saying no to all these.
“The tribunal and those who constituted it know that a junior judge cannot sit as chairman over the senior. But we have a situation that only in Cross River State did that happen. It is a shame that the tribunal sat through for six months wasting the peoples’ resources and energy only to come to discover at the last day in their submission that they are incompetent. They discovered this only in two weeks and we are saying no to it and the injustice.”
“The diocese in pursuit of natural and democratic justice, protests against the 2015 Election Petition Tribunal for National and State Assemblies sitting in Calabar (Panel 1) on the grounds of massive bribery and corruption; abuse of democratic and judicial process; mutilation of justices and democratic system; judicial fraud, incompetence, grave error and gross irresponsibility; political/legal conspiracy, compromise and executive manipulations,” the Archbishop stressed.
Mr Effiong Okon, a protester from Bakassi, said: “There was no tribunal in Cross River State known to the law and mankind. There was no tribunal of such known to civilisation or law.
“There was no tribunal in Cross River State. The federal government should bring to book Justice Adeniyi and Awubra.”
They came to Cross River State to conduct just an academic exercise at the expense of tax payers money.”
It was reported that the tribunal had on Monday, October 12 disqualified itself, and declared “null and void “ all its proceedings from inception to Tuesday, October 6.
Thereafter, the three-man panel went ahead to deliver an “academic judgment” on five cases in favour of the PDP.
However, Peter Psok, the secretary of the tribunal, had on several occasions denied the claims, describing the allegations as nothing but blatant fallacy.
The protesters made pleas to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging the president to come to their rescue and save them from the claws of corruption.
One of their placards read: “Buhari save us from PDP impunity/madness; members of Election Petition Tribunal in Cross River State are fraudstars”, “EFCC, ICPC please probe these persons: Justices Adeniyi, Awubra and Oyomire; Chief Justice of Nigeria Suspend President of Court of Appeal and save Cross River from judicial suicide done by the cosmetic tribunal,” and “N1billion bribery to election tribunal, is that not our bail out money.”
The dissenters were prevented by the police, from gaining access to the premises of the Industrial Court where the tribunal seats.
Journalists were also barred from the premises by security agents who later evacuated the coffin and banners placed before the tribunal gate.
On Wednesday, October 21, the Peoples Democratic Party was served a strong warning by Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the Chief Judge of Nigeria.
They were asked to maintain their limit within politics and cease from making derogatory statements about the judiciary.
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