The Supreme Court Judgment that restored Governor Caleb Mannaseh Mutfwang as the duly elected Governor of Plateau State has continued to generate mixed reactions across the country. This is so following the comments made by comment for the Supreme Court panel headed by Justice John Inyang Okoro which overturned the sacking of the Governor by the Court of Appeal in November 2023 over pre-election matters. The Supreme Court spared no words to describe the injustice done to the Federal and State PDP Lawmakers who were sacked from the controversial Appeal Court Judgment.
Following these, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) have called for the resignation of Justice Monica Dongban-Messem the President of the Court of Appeal over her alleged involvement in the matter.
This time, a Youth Activist, Comrade Prince Miaphen has called on the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Monica Dongban-Messem to apologize to the people of Plateau State over the controversial judgement which sacked all federal and state lawmakers elected under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by the appeal court which she superintended over.
The activist also asked her to step aside and also pray to escape the wrath of her people in Plateau State. This was contained in an open letter addressed to Justice Monica, personally issued by Comrade Prince Miaphen on Tuesday 16th January 2024.
According to the letter, Plateau people celebrated her elevation to the position of President of the Court of Appeal, and expected “much Glory and honour to our dear stage, and indeed, esteem to your noble calling of law”. Contrary to their expectations the letter said “…not only have you desecrates your hallowed office, tarnished your career track record and brought great dishonor to the legal profession, you have equally brought opprobrium to the entire Plateau State, most especially, to your family”.
Comrade Miaphen point out while referring to the Appeal Court President that “The hatchet job which your three-member panel of the Election Petition Tribunal headed by Justice Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu executed on the Plateau, ostensibly on your instruction and to your satisfaction, was nothing short of a broad daylight robbery of the Plateau people’s mandates. It was a complete travesty of the law and justice, a betrayal of the people’s trust and a huge sacrilege that must not go unpunished. It is akin to the invasion of the entire Plateau State by a soulless group of armed bandits”.
Comrade Miaphen said it took the intervention of the Supreme Court to halt the obvious electoral malpractice perpetrated by “your rogue Tribunal” and save the people’s mandate for the Governorship of the state, which they undeniably bestowed on Barr. Caleb Mutfwang of the PDP”.
Comrade Miaphen conclude thus, that “My candid advice to you now is to humbly tender an unreserved public apology to the people of Plateau State, and demonstrate your remorse by promptly resigning your appointment as the President of the Court of Appeal. Otherwise, you may naturally be sacked by the Federal Government when it opens up the book on your stewardship; or even better, we the Plateau people will be force to petition the National Judicial Council to demand your immediate sack”.
The full letter is presented as received;
16th January, 2024
AN OPEN LETTER TO JUSTICE MONICA DONGBAN-MENSEM, THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF APPEAL
Dear Justice Monica,
APOLOGIZE, RESIGN AND STILL PRAY TO ESCAPE THE WRATH OF YOUR PEOPLE
Your elevation to the venerated position of President of the Court Appeal in 2020, was received with much euphoria across the Plateau. Irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliation, the Plateau people were united in your support, optimistic that our sister had attained a position in which her conduct would return much glory and honour to our dear state, and indeed, esteem to your noble calling of law.
2. But on the contrary, not only have you desecrated your hallowed office, tarnished your career track record and brought great dishonour to the legal profession, you have equally brought opprobrium to the entire Plateau State, most especially, to your family.
3. Believe it or not, as it stands, you are incurably set for a fatal and humiliating crash in your sterling career, after almost attaining the pinnacle of the legal profession – a profession that is expected to be the gauge of the conscience of society, an enabler of peace and order, which are critical ingredients for national development.
4. The hatchet job which your three-member panel of the Election Petitions Tribunal headed by Justice Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu executed on the Plateau, ostensibly on your instruction and to your satisfaction, was nothing short of a broad daylight robbery of the Plateau people’s mandates. It was a complete travesty of the law and justice, a betrayal of the people’s trust and a huge sacrilege that must not go unpunished. It is akin to the invasion of the entire Plateau State by a soulless group of armed bandits.
5. Against the popular wishes of the Plateau State people, your rogue Tribunal successfully sacked 16 Members of the 25-member State House of Assembly; two Senators and five Members of the House of Representatives, all elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and by deliberate design, in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Tribunal’s lame argument was that the PDP didn’t validly nominate its 2023 candidates on the Plateau.
6. It took the intervention of the Supreme Court last Friday, to halt the obvious electoral malpractice perpetrated by your rogue Tribunal, and save the people’s mandate for the Governorship of the state, which they undeniably bestowed on Barr. Caleb Mutfwang of the PDP. However, it is too late to save the positions of the state and national assembly members which your tribunal heartlessly sacked, because their cases stop at your stable, the Court of Appeal.
7. But you are quite aware that it would take at least another four years, for the Plateau people to undo the havoc which you have wreaked on the state through your evidently compromised Election Petitions Tribunal. While your position was supposed to be an immense blessing to the Plateau, it turned out to be an intractable curse.
8. You must be aware by now that rumour is rife back home that you used your position as President of the Court of Appeal, to conspire and connive with the enemies of the state to deny us of our best political representatives at both the state and the national levels.
9. Our people are really curious to know what spurred your intent. Was it to pave the way for your Shendam brother, Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong, to ascend to the Senate to represent Plateau South against the will of the people, since he was undeniably pummeled at the polls? Because you actually achieved that, Lalong is currently in the Senate, even though he knows he was roundly rejected by his people. Or perhaps, it was to repay Lalong for appointing your daughter, Buetnaan, a judge of the High Court of Plateau State? Or was it just to curry favour from the party at the center, being that the APC won the Presidential Election, or to justify the financial inducements you may have received from the selected politicians and traditional rulers, which you are being alleged to have sold out your conscience to? Because our people attribute the outcome of the Election Petitions Tribunal in the Plateau to your greed, selfishness and lust for lucre.
10. But to compound your case, it has been revealed that not only in Plateau did your rogue Tribunal wreak havoc and intended to upturn the people’s mandate. A similar scenario almost occurred in Kano and Zamfara States, to mention but a few.
11. My question is, how are you able to sleep at night, knowing very well that you have committed such a scale of atrocity against the people whom you were appointed to uphold their constitutional rights to justice? Don’t you fear that the few politicians and parochial interests you are trying to protect cannot defend you against the rage of the majority, which you have hurt by your actions?
12. If it’s true the saying that when a child washes his hands clean, he wines and dines with kings and queens; then the converse would equally hold, that when Kings and queens soil their hands, they ought to be stripped of their royalty and confined to the realms of the commoners.
13. My candid advice to you now is to humbly tender an unreserved public apology to the people of Plateau State, and demonstrate your remorse by promptly resigning your appointment as the President of the Court of Appeal. Otherwise, you may naturally be sacked by the Federal Government when it opens up the book on your stewardship; or even better, we the Plateau people will be forced to petition the National Judicial Council to demand your immediate sack.
14. I’ll further advise you to act appropriately now, before the rage of the Plateau people would boil over and nothing will be able to save you from their wrath.
As they say, a stitch in time saves nine.
Yours in nation building,
Comrade Prince Miaphen …
A Youth Activitist
Written from Jos.
Nigeria Star News 