The Supreme Court will tomorrow hear the Motion on Notice in which the governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Wagatakarda Wamako, through his lawyer, is asking the court to make a pronouncement on the state of the governorship election in the state. Already there have been various litigations in courts over the fresh election ordered by the Court of Appeal with allegations and counter allegations directed by parties to the suit at the justices of the court of appeal. Each of the letters is alleging perversion of justice on the part of the President of the Court of Appeal and intervention of the Chairman of the National Judicial Commission (NJC), Justice Aloysious Katsina-Alu.

From February till date, the National Judicial Commission has been inundated with a letter by one Yahaya Mahmood who claimed that the court of appeal, Kaduna division nullified the 14th day of April, 2007 election of Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko as governor of Sokoto state and consequent upon that the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted the fresh election as ordered by the Court of Appeal on the 24th of May, 2008 and the results were in favour of the incumbent who scored 562, 395 votes against 124, 046 votes scored by Muhammadu Dingyadi of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP). Dissatisfied by the results, Alhaji Dingyadi headed for the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja via Originating Summons for the interpretation of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna . Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court dismissed the suit on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to interprete the judgment of the higher court, the decision which was appealed by the plaintiff to the Court of Appeal in Abuja .

While the appeal was pending, the appellant filed an application for leave to raise fresh issue in which it stated that the Federal High Court, Abuja had jurisdiction to enforce the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna . The Abuja division of the appellate court refused to grant the leave to raise fresh issue on the grounds that an appeal is a continuation of hearing and not an invention of a new cause of action.

It is also on record that on the 14th day of December, 2009, the appellants appealed to the Supreme Court with a prayer to invoke section 22 of its Act to determine the substantive suit on its merits. The appellants also filed a petition before the Sokoto Governorship Election Tribunal where they made no complaints against the conduct of the fresh election and claimed that Alhaji Wamakko was not qualified in the first place to contest the fresh election based on the 11th April, 2008 court of Appeal, Kaduna judgment and asked the tribunal to interpret the judgment. In the end, the Election tribunal dismissed the petition on the grounds that it has no jurisdiction, and that in view of the similar pending matters before the court of appeal, Abuja , the petition was simply an abuse of court process.

The appellants appealed the decision to the Sokoto division of the court, which means that in respect of the same election there were two pending appeals; one before the court of Appeal Sokoto as the final court, and the other, before the Court of Appeal, Abuja with the likelihood of further appeal to the Supreme Court. It is therefore not surprising that there is a case pending before the apex court in respect of the Sokoto state governorship election, meaning that it is not yet Uhuru for the incumbent while the hope is not lost for the appellants.

However, far from the major suits littering the court rooms, there have been some other clandestine petitions already generating heat within the judicial circle. One of such petitions was from Yahaya Mahmood in which he claimed that on resumption as the new President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami constituted a panel to hear the Sokoto Appeal while the Abuja appeal was still pending. He said that he went to the president of the court in company Senator Umaru Dahiru to find out if the honourable Justice was aware of the reasons his predecessor did not set up the panel, awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court. "That I did not want him to make any mistake, and I went with the senator because Hon. Justice Salami request (sic) me on several occasions to link up with the senator for his nomination, submission and screening to his present appointment. That Hon. Justice Salami was very free with two of us, and informed two of us that he reversed his predecessor's decision because it was administrative and not legal. That I took his decision in good faith and thought it was to ensure speedy disposal of the appeal and therefore in the interest of justice."

His claim was corroborated by Umar Dahiru in the affidavit he deposed to at the Federal High Court in Abuja in which he said that he actually followed Yahaya Mahmood to Justice Salami where their assistance was sought for his appointment as the president of the court of appeal.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysious Katsina-Alu had already queried three justices of the Court of Appeal handling various cases involving the 2007 governorship election in Sokoto state with a directive to stop the proceedings on the matter pending the determination of allegations levelled against them by the petitioners.

By virtue of his position as the Chairman of the National Judicial Commission (NJC), Justice Katsina-Alu, in a letter addressed to Justice Musa Muhammed of the Sokoto division of the court of appeal, Justice John Inyang Okoro, Kaduna division, Justice Paul Galinje, Justice Regina Nwodo of Lagos division and Justice Mashood Oredola of Sokoto division, the CJN forwarded petitions containing the allegations against them. The petitions were submitted by the principal solicitor to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and one Alfred Agu, solicitor to Alhaji Wagatakarda Wammako. The CJN said that since the petitions were self-explanatory, there was no point going into the details in his letter.

Said the Chief Justice of Nigeria: "Meanwhile you are to ensure that further action on the appeals is put on hold pending the determination of the serious allegations levelled against you and the President of the Court of Appeal, please."

The petition by Alfred Agu accused the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami and other justices of the court of perverting the cause of justice and it narrated how his client won the 2007 elections with 392,258 votes, thereby defeating other contestants. Dissatisfied, the petition said that Alhaji Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) who scored 296, 419 votes filed a petition before the tribunal, which dismissed the petition on the grounds that the petition is grounded on pre-election matter and therefore lacked jurisdiction.

He said that the appeal on the case was heard at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna division which allowed the appeal and nullified the election and ordered a fresh election among the candidates that contested the 14th April 2007, election.

The fresh election, he said, was won by his client, Alhaji Wammako, the governor of Sokoto state, and the other person filed another petition before the tribunal and pursued it up till the Court of Appeal, Sokoto division and another appeal had gone through the Kaduna division.

"In the appeal before the Court of Appeal, Sokoto division which is the subject of this petition, a panel was constituted by the honourable president of the court of Appeal to hear the appeal which clearly is predicated on clear manifestation of the honourable president to make the panel to review or set aside the earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal Kaduna on the previous governorship for Sokoto state."

The petitioner stated that he filed a motion on notice to move the court to invoke the section 295 (3) of the constitution for a reference of the case to the Supreme Court but the court refused to give a date for the motion to be moved, thereby perverting justice. According to him, similar injustices had been suffered by his client in respect of the case and that was the reason he filed the petition against the President of the Court of Appeal.

In order to avoid confusion, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, also wrote a letter dated 22nd February, 2010 drawing the attention of the Court of Appeal about various cases emanating from the same election.

Olanipekun urged the court to do the right thing so that "the Supreme Court would be allowed the enfettered opportunity to take decision or make any pronouncement or order in respect of our application, come 15th March, 2010."

However, the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) has insisted that governorship election petition terminates at the court of appeal and that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter and that the National Judicial Council should not intervene in it.

"The powers of the Court of Appeal in governorship election petition appeals cannot be undermined or circumvented by anyone or body, or even the Chief Justice of the Federation in this office or as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council because the effect of such would be an unconstitutional interference with the powers and function of the Court of Appeal particularly that of its president."

The party in a letter allegedly written by Dr. Ademola Adebo, DPP urged members of the NJC to investigate the chairman, saying that his action was partial. However, Dr. Adebo has denied the authorship of the letter and clarified that as a law abiding citizen, he and his party were waiting for the final and just determination of the substantive suit and he could not have cast any aspersion on the personality of the CJN in respect of the case before the court.

Mohammed wrote in from Sokoto

The LEADERSHIP column, Last Word, of March 8, 2010, entitled: "Who Does Onovo Work For?" is nothing but a rhetorical farce aimed at discrediting not only the Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, but the entire police force.  The report coming at a time the country is trying to re-brand and restore hope and confidence leaves little to be desired.

The columnist and so many other columnists like him should exercise caution whenever they handle national and sensitive topics since the nation deserves unbiased, well-investigated and conclusive reports at this critical time of our national history.  Speculations and warped rhetoric should not form the fulcrum of their discourse since what they write most times could have some irreparable effects on the psyche of the people.

But what is the crux of the matter in the submissions?  It is Onovo, The Nigeria police and the issue of robbers ordering the driver of a robbed luxury bus to run over the passengers who did not have money on them.  This matter has taken some bizarre and alarming dimension since the purported report and pictures of the said incident graced the pages of some newspapers recently.  But more political is the matter since it has equally taken the front burner at the National Assembly, which called for an inquiry into the issue. However, at this point, the most important thing should have been the veracity or confirmation of the said incident.  Since the protection of life and property falls within the purview of the Nigeria police, the onus then falls on it to refute or confirm such an incident

The purported incident where robbers ordered the death of those passengers was propagated out of conventional norms and rationale by not only the media, but other concerned stakeholders.  It is, indeed, frightening that such a sensitive security issue of life and death was garnished with obvious drops of illusion and political connotations.

Although one is not holding brief for the police force, but the sad incident of July 31, 2009, along Ijebu-Ode/Sagamu expressway should not be exploited politically or for whatever other parochial reasons to hound Onovo or dent the image of the Nigeria police.  The incident should not be subjected to such myopic and sentimental diagnosis as the case has been since the events of that day remain clear and incontrovertible.

On that day, a luxury bus in the "Young Shall Grow Motors" fleet with vehicle registration number XF 285 AKD driven by one Mr. Oke Okafor from Enugu to Lagos, was attacked by robbers between the Federal Government College, Odogbolu and Babcook University junction along the Ijebu-Ode/Sagamu expressway.  The passengers were ordered to lie face down beside the road.  That was when an on-coming truck with vehicle registration number XN 808 BEN and driven by one Osayinde Idahosa from Edo State appeared and refused to be stopped by the robbers, thereby crushing the passengers by the road side.  It is indeed sad and tragic that a total number of nineteen passengers lost their lives in that single incident.  Even if no one died in that attack, the incident remains tragic and a criminal matter the police should not relent in fishing out the culprits.

Armed robbery incidents have become a recurring phenomenon in our society such that the authorities should do more to empower the police.  The authorities should do more to fund and motivate the Nigeria police.  The National Assembly should also not stop at investigating the robbery incident, but should expedite action on the release of the 2.7 trillion naira police fund already trapped by bureaucratic protocols.

Security in the country should not only be the sole responsibility of the police since every citizen has a contribution to make.  Nobody is praying for such an incident to occur, but given a typical robbery incident that was compounded by the gruesome and bizarre death of the passengers, the anger and agony of the people is no doubt understandable.  In all ramifications, it should be condemned by every decent mind, but not exploited by the public to smear the integrity or competence of Onovo or the police.  Such adverse and negative disposition can only aggravate the situation and work up the society.

I am sure that the columnist only relied on the earlier reports of LEADERSHIP on the incident without confirming it from the police authorities. He should have sought the police angle to the incident before spreading tension and anxiety across the nation.  Journalism should be practised with tact, truth, honour and diligence.

As a citizen of this country, I know that the image of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has become a subject of doubt for sometime.  People still regard the force with disdain such that any positive news from the force is taken with a pinch of salt.  The reputation of the police has, indeed, become its greatest headache.

But it seems the Nigeria police in recent times have buckled up and ready to project an acceptable image.  Although it would take some time to have a completely rejuvenated police force, it is obvious that the current leadership under Onovo has taken the right steps to achieve this herculean task.  Being a tactical administrator, Onovo, it appears, understands the dynamics of policing a nation, especially a multi-faceted society like ours.  He has equally shown some progressive reflexes by his achievements so far, like the outcome of the Anambra State gubernatorial elections and Edo State House of Assembly re-run elections where the police played vital and positive roles.  It is also worthy to note that it was crime-free in all the venues when the nation hosted the cadet World Cup recently.  Even the way the police handled the recent civil protest by civil society groups is also commendable.

The columnist should therefore, use his column to propagate well-researched national issues rather than appearing to be in a haste to churn articles like the current issue, thereby causing disaffection and tension in the country.

•Madueke wrote in from Wuse II, Abuja

He that lives upon hope will die fasting - Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

My earliest recollection of the association between governance and morbidity was when Ambrose Alli, a professor of Morbid Anatomy was elected governor of the old Bendel State in 1979. Flirting with morbidity has now transcended the late professor. Since his exit, the art has become statecraft. Each time a new regime replaces an old order, dead political actors are heroically remembered, frenetically fetched out, penitently dusted out of their graves and soulfully brandished and garbed in the toga of martyrdom and impressively saddled with 'new' responsibilities and the business of governance remains inchoate; business as usual.

Every government in power is a syndrome that has become endemic with Nigeria. The sports arena is not left out. Last month, when it became obvious that the Super Eagles was not going to do well in The World Cup Mundial, a long forgotten, jaded 60-something year-old Swede by the name Lars Lagerback was thrown to international prominence as the technical adviser. Does it mean there are no vibrant young and creative minds that could do the job better? Don't ask me. It has become a way of life in Nigeria.

That's why I sympathise with our dear amiable Acting President about the people he romances openly and secretly. In spite of the tremendous outpouring of emotion and scintillating goodwill of Nigerians and the international community, he has elected to take the road usual, in a patently unusual world and circumstances, by romancing the politically dead; people whose days of delivering the goods are gone. I understand the theoretical ambiguities in matching science with the art of politics. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is a botanist and zoo scientist, trained in my alma mater, but obviously, we are not in the plant and animal kingdom.

Youth-pessimism seems to have beclouded his sense of propriety as soon as he transformed to the Acting president. I cannot understand this obsession with morbidity that made him travel the same route to perdition - the road that has failed all his predecessors, including the last one. How on earth would a young man like Goodluck, with all his supposed education and years in the ivory tower not know that the wisdom of yesterday is today's stupidity. Knowledge is fluid, so the generational gap will rather take us back to the days of yore.

At a  time many of his new-found clique of advisers were on the saddle, so were Generals Chung-hee Park of South Korea, Gamal Abdel Naseer of Egypt, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey and Mr. Lee Kwan Yew in Singapore. So were the leaders of the Asian Tiger's economic revolution. They have since moved on and bequeathed prosperous countries to the successor generation. And the good work continues. From being the world's second poorest nation in 1953, at a time colonialists were afraid to leave Nigeria, because of the fear that the world's most populous black nation had the potential of ruling the global economy, South Korea's fortune has turned. So has Nigeria's.  You can hardly water a burgeoning humanity from the carcasses of the dead. With 'new knowledge' powering the global economic order, hardly can a cabinet, peopled by analogue men and women drive a competitive process. It's just impossible.

If in all the 50 years in government, they could not generate more than 3,000 megawatts of electricity, whereas a single Steel plant in Korea consumes about double that figure, I don't understand the "Miracle of Damman" that will happen in less than 8 month rule of Goodluck.  While we cannot wish away their contributions, we thank them for what they have been able to undo. The truism of our esoteric existence now requires that they take the back seats and throw up new Turks. Goodluck owes us a duty to identify new leaders with a 21st century mind-set. If the fading generation has anything to contribute, I admonish them, if they have not done so, let them begin to compile their memoirs and with the knowledge of hindsight, let the unborn generations know what they did right and acknowledge their transgressions. With age comes sobriety. They need not regret. Let them remorsefully re-chart a roadmap to our collective redemption. Only through that, can they honestly roadmap to a better Nigeria. That is what I call patriotism.

Is Goodluck giving the impression that, that generation remains the best and irreplaceable? That definitely is not the wish of these men and women. I would have wished that they reject the appointments outright and allow today's people instead. Vibrant, intellectually-laced, progressive-minded Nigerians, at home and in the Diaspora, are legion. No matter the set-back of the previous administration, the people that made the critical difference are the ICT-compliant few young men and women. While their older cabinet counterparts were approaching governance the usual way of the 'cemetarians', they took solace in the unusualness of times and impacted the political landscape.