Investigate Appeal Court President Dongban-Mensem Over Allegation Of Influencing Election Petition Outcome, Group Tells CJN

A Civil Rights Advocacy Group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the Chairman of the National Judicial Council and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola to investigate allegations of corruption in the proceedings of the Courts of Appeal hearing election-related appeals emanating from the election petitions that characterised the 2023 poll.

The group said the CJN must intervene by way of conducting a thorough investigation in order to quicken access to justice by political litigants.

It also tasked the CJN with decentralisation of the process of adjudicating the appeals emanating from election petitions from the 2023 general elections so as to dismantle impediments to the dispensation of justice and to open the process to accountability and the constitutional principle of transparency.

Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the group’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that the President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has been determining who sits on particular appeal cases and possibly even pre-determining the outcomes of these cases.

He said, “We have received alarming information from highly credible sources within the judiciary, which compels us to bring these critical issues to the attention of the public and the relevant authorities.”

According to him, the directive by the Appeal Court President that all election appeal cases from the south of the country be moved to Lagos while those in the North be held in Abuja is nothing but a strategy for corruption.

He said the group is “deeply troubled by allegations of corruption that have emerged as a result of this centralization,” alleging that “litigants are engaging in financial transactions to secure favourable judgments.”

He added that “There are claims that the President of the Court of Appeal may be involved in determining who sits on particular appeal cases and possibly even pre-determining the outcomes of these cases.

“HURIWA got a series of intelligence concerning these allegations which is why we are publicly calling on the judicial authority to carry out clinical and systematic probe of these range of allegations to ascertain if there is merit in the allegations and to take steps to assure litigants and Nigerians that there is no cause for alarm.

“This is not by any stretch of imagination a direct allegation against anybody in the Court of Appeal but due to the high profile status of the whistle-blowers who gave us the information, we are therefore asking the head of the nation’s Court system to carry out thorough investigation into the allegations.

“These allegations of corruption and interference in the judicial process are not only distressing but pose a significant threat to the integrity and independence of our justice system.

“The reported sums of money involved are staggering and run into millions of dollars in foreign currency.”

While maintaining that the “justices hearing these cases are facing considerable challenges,” he called on the relevant authorities to investigate these allegations of corruption and interference in the judicial process.

The integrity and reputation of the Nigerian justice system are at stake, and it is imperative that swift and decisive action is taken to address these concerns, he said.

When contacted over the corruption allegation, a registrar in the court of appeal, Mrs Josephine J. Ekperobe said, “I can’t comment on that allegation.”

The Chief Registrar, Umar M. Bangari, could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report.