By Nwambu Gabriel Chibuzor, Ph.D.
Nigeria stands at a precipice. Decades of internal conflict—be it insurgency, banditry, or terrorism—have fractured the social contract, while the very foundation of our political system, a vibrant opposition, is crumbling before our eyes. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the nation’s principal opposition force, is being systematically dismantled not by the ruling party, but by an internal rot exacerbated by a judicial system that, in critical instances, appears to have traded justice for political expediency.
The much-lauded principle that the Judiciary is the last hope of the common man is facing its most profound test. The current spate of internal party litigation, characterized by conflicting and frankly frivolous court orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction, has created a climate of chaos, uncertainty, and perpetual instability within the PDP. This is not merely an internal party problem; it is a clear and present danger to Nigeria’s democracy.
The Critical Role of a Robust Opposition.
A healthy democracy is defined not just by the quality of its ruling party, but by the vigour and stability of its opposition. An effective opposition acts as the institutional watchdog, keeping the government in check, demanding accountability, providing alternative policy frameworks, and preventing the slide into one-party authoritarianism.
The unprecedented wave of defections from the PDP—from Governors to National Assembly members—is a direct consequence of the internal chaos fuelled by the court system. When party leadership is factionalised, contested, and perpetually subjected to conflicting judicial pronouncements, the party becomes an unstable platform. Members are incentivized to defect to the ruling party, further concentrating power and fatally weakening democratic oversight.
The Judiciary’s Indictment: Frivolous and Conflicting Orders
The primary mechanism of this democratic decay has been the unfortunate deployment of the court system to achieve political ends. We highlight two key failures that the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the superior courts must immediately address:
1. Forum Shopping and Judicial Indulgence
Political actors, by engaging in ‘forum shopping,’ traverse the country seeking out specific judges to secure favourable, often ex parte, orders on matters that should be settled internally or reserved for superior courts. The judiciary, instead of dismissing such cases as an abuse of court process and for lack of jurisdiction on internal party affairs where statutory provisions are not breached, often grants these orders. This judicial indulgence transforms internal political disagreements into existential legal crises, paralyzing the opposition.
2. The Erosion of Judicial Precedent (Stare Decisis)
The issuance of conflicting court orders on the same subject matter by courts of equal jurisdiction is an intellectual and professional embarrassment that strikes at the heart of the rule of law. It implies either a gross dereliction of duty, a lack of adherence to basic legal principles, or, most worryingly, the influence of factors outside the law.
When a citizen cannot predict the outcome of a case based on settled law and facts, the judiciary loses its moral and institutional authority. In the context of the PDP, these conflicting orders paralyze the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and National Convention, making effective leadership impossible and ultimately guaranteeing the party’s collapse.
A Clarion Call for Judicial Sanctions and Reform
The Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness (CCLCA) calls upon the leadership of the Nigerian Judiciary, particularly the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the National Judicial Council (NJC), to rise to the occasion and save our democracy.
1. Sanction Errant Judges: Zero Tolerance for Judicial Misconduct
The NJC must immediately establish a high-powered committee to investigate the spate of conflicting and seemingly politically-motivated orders, especially from the Federal High Court. Judges found to have issued frivolous, conflicting orders against the basic principles of elementary law, or orders secured through forum shopping, must be sanctioned forthwith. This is not an attack on judicial independence; it is a defence of judicial integrity. Only decisive sanctions can restore public confidence and deter the use of the bench for political manipulation.
2. Reaffirmation of Non-Justiciability for Internal Party Affairs
Superior courts, especially the Supreme Court, must re-emphasise and strictly enforce the limits of judicial intervention in the internal affairs of political parties. Unless there is a clear breach of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, or the party’s own constitution, the courts must uphold the principle that the management of political parties is a political rather than a judicial function. Judicial restraint is essential to foster genuine internal party democracy and conflict resolution.
3. Expedited Hearing of Political Disputes
The protracted nature of political litigation allows for the status quo of chaos to persist, which benefits those seeking to destroy the opposition from within. The judiciary must adopt specialized procedures for the swift and conclusive determination of intra-party disputes to ensure that a political party’s lifespan is not wholly consumed by litigation.
Nigeria’s security and stability are inherently linked to the health of its democracy. The nation is currently besieged by terrorism and insecurity, a threat exacerbated when citizens lose faith in democratic institutions. The Judiciary, our most sacred institution of justice, has the power to either save or sentence our democracy.
We implore the Judiciary to take bold, disciplinary action. Restoring the integrity of the judicial process is the first, most crucial step in restoring the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy.
The world is a global village. Consequently, perpetrators of these heinous crimes of anti democratic forces should not be left to go scot-free. We call on the international community to issue visas bans on these hybanators and members of their families globally as this would act as a proper check on anti democratic agents and their allies. With these in place, the common masses await the deliverance promised by the rule of law.
Written by Nwambu Gabriel Chibuzor, Ph.D., Director General, Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness (CCLCA)
