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Cites Loss of Faith in Court
- Safiu Kehinde
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has withdrawn its lawsuit against the Nigeria Police Force, citing a “complete lack of faith” in Justice Joyce Abdulmalik’s impartiality.
The party had filed the suit in a bid to get a court order compelling police to vacate its National Secretariat and restore it to the party’s elected leadership.
However, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Ini Ememobong, said in a statement on Friday the party had petitioned the Chief Judge over alleged bias by three judges, including Justice Abdulmalik.
“We expressed our complete lack of faith in their capacity to fairly dispense justice in matters involving PDP,” Ememobong stated.
He added that in spite of this, the Chief Judge assigned the PDP case to Justice Abdulmalik.
“When we appeared, we filed a motion for recusal, requesting the Judge step aside and return the case for reassignment.
“Rather than rule on the motion, she combined it with the hearing, managing the case as convenient for her,” Ememobong said.
He stressed this approach undermined fair hearing, reinforcing PDP’s distrust in her impartiality regarding any matter involving the party.
Following this, PDP filed a notice of discontinuance under Order 50 Rule 2(1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.
“This allows withdrawal without court leave within fourteen days of receiving the last defendant’s statement of defence,” Ememobong explained.
He noted that the notice was filed three days after the last defence, fully complying with the rules.
“After informing the court, the Judge dismissed rather than struck out our case, intensifying our fear about the court’s impartiality,” he said.
Ememobong affirmed PDP’s respect for Nigerian judges but reminded the judiciary of Justice Niki Tobi’s warning to avoid political influence.
“Our constitution forbids mingling. Judges and politicians must remain separate in discharging their functions,” he quoted Justice Tobi.
“If they meet, democracy suffers, undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty,” Ememobong said, urging judges not to “dance to politicians’ music.”