BY CHAMBERLAIN ODEY, JOS – The Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has adjourned sitting to June 14, 2019 after its inaugural sitting today at the State High Court, West of Mines, Jos.
Addressing lawyers, parties to the petition, and stakeholders during the inaugural sitting, chairman of the three-man panel of Justices, Justice Hammima Saleeman, emphasized the importance of time, reminding lawyers that the Tribunal’s duration is restricted by time hence the need for all to avoid time-wasting antics in the pursuit of justice.
Justice Saleeman called for cooperation from all and sundry saying that the assignment before the panel is a quest for justice that tasks the panelists to be fair, conscientious, and ensure that justice is done at the end of the day in the fear of God and service to society.
In his remarks, chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Jos branch, Barrister Yakubu Bawa, urged the justices and other visitors to Jos to disregard recent reports of skirmishes in Jos, saying Jos remains the “home of peace and tourism” which it has always been acclaimed to be.
Yakubu also said that the NBA is ready to give the Tribunal unflinching and unalloyed support and cooperation, noting that the NBA Jos is vibrant and one of the foremost nationally, and this makes the Jos jurisdiction to be reckoned with in Nigeria’s legal history.
The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chrys Amadu, said there couldn’t have been a better time than now for Their Lordships to be in Jos, saying security of lives and property are assured because Plateau has embraced peace as a way of life.
Chief Mike Ozekome, SAN, leading Chief SG Odey and a team of lawyers for the Petitioner, Senator Jeremiah Timbuct Useni and the State PDP, in his address, appreciated the uniqueness of Plateau as the second largest solid minerals state with 28 varieties, saying this confers special importance on the state and its people in the national development discourse.
Ozekome explained that the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is a constitutional and statutory body whose responsibility is to conduct free, fair, and credible elections, maintaining that whenever conduct of such elections fall short of desired standards and practices, politicians will be left with no option than to seek redress and justice in the Court of law.
Ozekome expressed confidence in the entire process, saying he and his team will work with diligence and germane professional spirit to get justice for their client and the people whose will, he said, must prevail because “they are the dog that wags the tail”.
Pius Akubo, SAN, and Garba Paul, SAN, representing the second and third respondents respectively, prayed God to guide and protect the justices and the entire process so that all parties will be satisfied at the end that justice was evidently done.
In adjourning sitting to June 14, Justice Saleeman said the intervening period is “to allow the counsels to file and serve applications and requests”.
