Imo: ‘Eyes Of The World Focused On Nigerian Supreme Court ’ —US congressman
United States Congressman, Rep. Chris Smith, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, says “the eyes of the world are focused on the Nigerian Supreme Court when it reconsiders next week a controversial ruling with respect to the gubernatorial election in Imo State that sacked Emeka Ihedioha as governor.
Mr. Smith, representing the city of New Jersey in the US House of Representatives, said this in a statement released on Friday in Washington by his office, “with regard to the Nigerian Supreme Court’s upcoming reconsideration of its controversial January 14, 2020 ruling which undid the results of an election in Imo State announced by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, and placed the fourth place finisher in the Governor’s seat.”
He expressed concern over the Nigerian Supreme Court and the danger of eroding constitutional safeguards should the apex court fail to do the right thing in the review of Imo governorship judgement slated for 2nd of March.
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A Supreme Court panel of seven justices had in that judgement sacked Mr. Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as governor and replaced him with Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who finished poorly in fourth position, and whose party did not win one seat in the State House of Assembly.
That grotesque decision had sparked protests across the nation and globally.
Since then the apex court had come under immense fire, with majority of Nigerians, senior lawyers and civil societies calling for a reversal of the decision seen by many as absurd.
But Congressman Smith says the United States saw the erosion of the independence of the judiciary in Nigeria coming.
