Supreme Court dismisses Wike's non-jurisdiction challenge!

The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit filed by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, challenging the jurisdiction of the Rivers governorship election petition tribunal to hear a petition by candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dakuku Peterside.

In his statement, Wike had argued that the tribunal sitting in Abuja had no jurisdiction over matters that transpired in the state, contending that the tribunal should have sat in Rivers State and not Abuja therby breaching section 285 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

However, the tribunal was moved to Abuja on the orders of the Chief Judge of the Appeal Court citing security concerns as reason for the decision ,as well as tribunals covering Akwa I‎bom, Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states.
The appeal court had earlier ruled that the tribunal could sit in Abuja to handle Rivers election petitions.

Following the ruling passed on the Rivers State governorship election on Saturday, the political temperature in the state has since risen a few bars as the ruling APC and the opposition PDP have been engaged in a war of words over the credibility of the judicial ruling.

The court also affirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier okayed the decision of the Tribunal to assume jurisdiction.

The apex court likened the violence in Rivers to that of a theatre of war such as is prevailing in the North-East”, the party said in a statement sgned by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone in Port Harcourt today.

National Leadership of the PDP, in a strong-worded statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Saturday, however asked:

PDP supporters and lovers of democracy across the country to rise up and use all lawful means to resist anti-democratic forces, now using the judiciary and security agencies in their desperate scheme to subvert the will of the people and destroy the nation’s democracy.

The APC in its assessment after today's judgement was grateful that all seven eminent jurists of the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that there was sufficient violence before; during and after the elections to justify the relocation of the tribunal to Abuja and that the relocation of the tribunal to Abuja was to safeguard the lives of the tribunal chairman, members and witnesses.

The APC noted with delight that Justice Okoro from Akwa Ibom State not only concurred but went further to say that Rivers State was a theatre of war and as such protection of life and limbs of members of the panel and interested parties was paramount and thus relocation of the Panel imperative.

The APC also commended the eminent Supreme Court Justices for once again re-affirming that they always dispense justice without fear or favour despite the frequent boasts by Nyesom Wike that he has all the Justices of the Supreme Court in his pocket, whatever that means.
The significance of all seven eminent Justices of the Supreme Court speaking in one voice in today’s judgment according to the APC, is that the faith, hope and confidence of the ordinary Nigerian to get justice is assured in the Nigerian judicial system.