•Supreme Court
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Supreme Court to redeem the judiciary’s waning public image by adjudicating judiciously on the matter challenging President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of Siminilayi Fubara as governor of the state.
In a statement, the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said he believes the judiciary has lost public confidence and trust due to perceived biased judgments, reports The Guardian.
He alleged that the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, instrumental in the rise of President Tinubu, has been at the centre of controversy, particularly with the judgment that declared Hope Uzodimma the winner of the Imo State election, despite coming fourth.
Onwubiko argued that the Supreme Court’s recent judgment, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, has sparked outrage as the court stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from remitting allocations to the Rivers State Government, describing the decision as “highly biased and openly partisan.”
He faulted the judgement, claiming that the ruling led to the destabilisation of democratic structures in Rivers and the unconstitutional suspension of Fubara.
He said with over 98 per cent of Nigerians believing President Tinubu has significant influence over the judiciary, the Supreme Court needs to prioritise justice and fairness in its decision-making.
Onwubiko said the inability of the Supreme Court to sanction Justice Agim for openly fraternising with the FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, at the recently held convocation ceremony of the University of Calabar, shows the complicity and compromise with the executive arm of government by the Nigerian judiciary whose hierarchy is domiciled in the Supreme Court.
He, therefore, affirmed that the time has come for the World to see whether or not it is factually accurate the conspiracy theory that President Tinubu has the Nigerian judiciary in his pockets.
