Goodluck Jonathan

Ex-Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan has spoken about the role of the of the judiciary in the ongoing crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Jonathan argued that certain court rulings have disrupted the natural flow of political events and created instability in Nigeria’s democracy.

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, October 17, Jonathan referenced a controversial court decision regarding the suspension and expulsion of a PDP National Chairman and called on the Supreme Court to review the judgment.

“The way things are going in this country, especially listening to the judgments being given regarding political cases, we are beginning to see that democracy in Nigeria is like a cone that is being turned upside down,” Jonathan said. “And if a cone is turned upside down it cannot be stable and at the slightest perturbation, it will fall.”

Jonathan also expressed dismay at the influence of political factors on legal decisions, emphasizing the need for neutrality among lawyers and judges to ensure the stability of Nigeria’s political system.

“If our democracy will endure, people, both at the Bar and the Bench, should not be carried away by political influence. That is the only way we can stabilize the political process,” Jonathan added.

The former president shared his concerns during the launch of 50 books by legal luminary Mike Ozekhome (SAN) to mark his 67th birthday. The event was attended by prominent figures including ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Chairman of the Body of Benchers Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), and Labour Party’s former presidential candidate Peter Obi.

Jonathan pointed to a specific judgment, which he described as troubling: “There is a particular judgment that has been haunting me… it simply turned the cone upside down, and if the courts don’t look back into this case, it will create so much instability in the political system that it would affect all of us.”

He criticized a court ruling that allowed a Ward Chairman to expel a National Chairman of a political party, calling it unnatural and misaligned with justice. “And, you cannot tell me that the Head of Department in a university, for example, can expel the Vice Chancellor. So, how can the Nigerian law tell me that a Ward Chairman can expel a national officer of a political party?”

Jonathan emphasized that this judgment has been a key factor in the internal conflicts within the PDP and has even caused issues within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the past.

“I am appealing with the Supreme Court to revisit that judgment, because that judgment has turned the cone upside down, and the political process, the democracy, is wobbling,” Jonathan concluded.