Why US Banned Supreme Court Justices Over Judgment

OpenLife News reports that a retiring Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, has dropped a bombshell to the effect that the United States of America placed some Justices of Nigeria’s apex court on a visa ban and the ban is still in force today.

Speaking at her valedictory session on Friday as she bowed out at the mandatory retirement age of 70, Justice Abba-Aji revealed that the ban followed a controversial judgment of the court that she said was widely misinterpreted.

Said she: “My time on the Supreme Court bench was filled with challenges, some of which have served as additional opportunities to stand firm on the side of justice, regardless of the consequences.

“One of such challenging judgments was widely misinterpreted and led to a travel ban to the United States of America being imposed on all members of the panel, a ban which still holds today.”

She did not name the case in her speech, but on the basis of assumption, the case could be the explosive legal battle that followed the 2019 Imo State governorship election.

The Judgment That Shook Nigeria

On January 14, 2020, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court did the unthinkable. It nullified the election of PDP candidate Emeka Ihedioha and ordered the swearing-in of APC candidate, Senator Hope Uzodimma , who had initially finished 4th in the election.

In the lead judgment delivered by the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the apex court ordered INEC to immediately withdraw Ihedioha’s Certificate of Return and issue a fresh one to Uzodimma as the validly elected governor.

To reach that decision, the panel threw out the concurrent verdicts of both the Court of Appeal and the Imo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which had both affirmed Ihedioha as winner.

Votes Counted Inside The Courtroom

The panel then added election results from 388 polling units, amounting to 213,295 votes which were tendered before the tribunal by a police officer who testified as PW-54, but which INEC itself disowned.

After the votes were computed inside the courtroom, Uzodimma was declared the candidate who secured the majority of lawful votes cast, a judgment that sparked nationwide protests and outrage.

Other members of the panel, led by then CJN Justice Tanko Muhammad, were Justices Sylvester Ngwuta, Kayode Ariwoola and Amiru Sanusi.

Ihedioha later returned to the court seeking a review, insisting the judgment occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

His application was refused.

Only one member of the panel, Justice Centus Nweze, dissented, ordering Ihedioha’s reinstatement and declaring the judgment a nullity.

“This decision of the Supreme Court will continue to haunt our electoral jurisprudence for a long time to come,” Justice Nweze warned, accusing the panel of acting in bad faith.

A Small Price To Pay

At her valedictory session, Justice Abba-Aji said the US visa ban was part of the price she paid for service on the bench.“Such inconveniences were a small price to pay to preserve the chastity of justice,” she said.

In her tribute, CJN Kekere-Ekun extolled the retiring jurist, who joined the judicial service in Borno State in 1973, rising from Clerical Assistant to Assistant Registrar, Acting Registrar and Higher Registrar.

She noted that Justice Abba-Aji served at various Divisions of the Court of Appeal in Benin, Abuja, Ekiti, Owerri and Kaduna from September 22, 2004, before her promotion to the Supreme Court on January 8, 2019.

“For many of us, particularly the women who have entered the Nigerian Judiciary in more recent years, Hon. Justice Abba-Aji’s career is part of the story of how the place of women in our Judiciary has evolved,” the CJN said.

She added that her leadership in the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria and as President of the National Association of Women Judges Nigeria (NAWJN) showed her commitment to creating space for other women to find their voices and assume leadership.

Supreme Court Overview

Q: Why were Supreme Court Justices placed on US visa ban?
A: According to Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the ban followed the Supreme Court judgment in the 2019 Imo governorship election that nullified Emeka Ihedioha’s election and installed Hope Uzodimma.

Q: Is the US visa ban on Supreme Court Justices still active?
A: Yes. Justice Abba-Aji said during her valedictory session that the ban “still holds today.”

Q: Who were on the Supreme Court panel for the Imo judgment?
A: The panel was led by then CJN Justice Tanko Muhammad and included Justices Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Uwani Abba-Aji, Sylvester Ngwuta, Kayode Ariwoola, Amiru Sanusi and Centus Nweze, who dissented.

Q: How many votes were added in the Imo judgment?
A: 213,295 votes from 388 polling units, tendered by a police officer (PW-54) but disowned by INEC, were added by the court.