Jibrin Okutepa: Ignoring Stay Order In Party Deregistration Suit Amounts To Judicial Insubordination
Okutepa argues that delivering judgment despite a Court of Appeal stay order on party deregistration breaches judicial hierarchy and amounts to insubordination.
Okutepa argues that delivering judgment despite a Court of Appeal stay order on party deregistration breaches judicial hierarchy and amounts to insubordination.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), Jibrin Okutepa, has criticised the delivery of judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in the political parties deregistration suit despite a subsisting Court of Appeal stay order, describing the action as judicial insubordination and a breach of judicial hierarchy.
The comments follow a recent Court of Appeal decision faulting Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for delivering judgment in a suit challenging the deregistration of political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Recall that the trial court had ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC) and four other parties.
However, the Court of Appeal later held that the judgment was delivered despite a subsisting order staying proceedings in the matter, describing the action as a violation of judicial hierarchy.
“What happened appears to be judicial insubordination, judicial impertinence, and it ought not to be so, and should not be so,” he stated.
Explaining further, he said: “Because under our law, the High Court is obligated mandatorily to obey the orders of the Court of Appeal and enforce it without question, whether or not it believes that that order was rightly given or wrongly given, or whether their lordships who made that order, in the estimation of the lower court, committed a grievous error of law.”
On whether the Attorney General’s involvement could be viewed as an attempt to weaken opposition parties, Okutepa said he had not reviewed the relevant court filings and was unaware of the details of any intervention in the case.
“I’ve not had the privilege of reading what the Honorable Attorney General of the Federation filed. I’m not too sure,” he said.
