NNPP
We’ll seek redress at NJC, others over Kano tribunal’s judge foul language – NNPP
The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Sunday, responded to the allegation by Justice Benson Anya of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that its leaders and members are terrorists.
The NNPP threatened to drag him before the National Judicial Council (NJC) over his “indecorous and libelous language” used by him to tarnish the image of its leaders and members.
The Judge had described supporters of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State as bandits and terrorists, regarding the circumstances and reactions around the delivery of the tribunal judgement.
A statement by the NNPP National Auditor, Ladipo Johnson, said the party was surprised and condemned the portions of the publication where a member of the panel, Justice Anya, described the members as “the gang of Red Cap wearers who, like a violent and terrorist cult, chased us out of Kano and put us in the fear of our lives”.
Johnson said the NNPP would “consider all options, including petitioning the NJC over the utterances of the Judge and shall appeal the Tribunal’s verdict.”
Johnson also condemned Justice Benson Anya’s remarks that “instead of some Kano politicians to be allowed to use banditry and violence to abort democracy in Kano State, justice will be used to stop them from destroying democracy in Kano and upward.”
He also condemned use of foul language, which he said was unbecoming of a Judge and defender of the law.
“Of course, the indecorous, libelous and outright condemnable comments credited to the panel and especially those portions where Justice Benson Anya went beyond his judicial bounds of immunity and acted as if he is an interested party in the matter by casting aspersions on the leadership and members of NNPP, are spurious, regrettable, uncouth and based on sentiments.
“To any rational observer, it should be glaringly obvious that Justice Anya’s lengthy rebuke, insult and insensitive remarks against NNPP individually and collectively were rather unprecedented, and not based on the facts, evidence and law before the Tribunal. One would think that he has taken sides as an interested party and as such has prejudiced the judgement of the court.
“Justice Benson Anya may have been trying to curry the public sympathy by painting the “wearers of the red cap” as “terrorists and bandits,” a terrible application of sentiments to validate a historic and epic miscarriage of justice,” he said.
He recalled that the Judge may have been petitioned against in Abia State, wondering why he was nominated to the panel in the first place.
Johnson insisted that the party would seek all options, “including petitioning the NJC over the utterances of the Judge, and shall appeal the tribunal’s verdict which removed Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf as Kano governor.”
According to him, the party was confident that justice will be delivered at the Appellate Court in due course “to reinforce the faith of the people in the judiciary and democracy.”
He said, “It now seems apparently clear that justice was not served by the Election Petition Panel which had all its sittings in Kano without any report of violence or disruptions, and then all of a sudden, decided to give their judgement via Zoom from some obscure place that remains a mystery to us!”
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