Appeal Court President urged to disassociate from Plateau legislator

PEGGA, a democracy advocacy group, has called on Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, the President of the Court of Appeal, to firmly refute the insinuations made by House of Representatives member Yusuf Gagdi that the APC has strong connections in the judiciary to get judgement on its terms. This comes in response to recent rulings of the Court of Appeal that went against some PDP National Assembly lawmakers from Plateau State.

According to a statement released by the group on Tuesday, the audacious claim made by Gagdi, which has since gone viral, suggests that the APC in Plateau has taken control of the judiciary.

A now-viral video purports to show Gagdi, a politician representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency, stating that the PDP may file an appeal with the Supreme Court or an appeal court and that the two courts would demonstrate their mutual ties.

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“We’ve visited the Appeal Court, and the Supreme Court is our ultimate objective. We’ll meet there. To the thunderous cheers of his APC audience, Gagdi declared, “That is where we will know who they know and they will know who we know.”

In response to this development, PEGGA, through its National Coordinator, Mani Imman, released a statement asking the President of the Court of Appeal to demonstrate that the appellate court and she are above the APC’s plans for the Plateau.

“Your Lordship, Gagdi has conveyed the idea that he and the APC may purchase opinions by utilising their personal relationships. They are brazenly showing off how they are ruling the Plateau.

“Yes, we are worried about you and your reputation, especially in light of the recent bad press you’ve been receiving due to the conflicting opinions on the plateau.”

Therefore, we’re calling on you to show that you’re stronger than Gagdi’s outbursts by seeing to it that justice is done on the plateau. In particular, we request that you investigate the reason for the Plateau PDP’s utilisation of pre-election problems that the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal have declared should not be the topic of election arbitration.

The President of the Court of Appeal was entrusted by the group to protect her name from being tarnished by self-serving politicians who want to destroy the harmony on the plateau and her ancestral country.

According to OBASANJO NEWS24, the Court of Appeal in Abuja recently dismissed six members of the National Assembly (PDP) and mandated a rerun in the Plateau North Senatorial zone within ninety days. The candidates of the All Progressives Congress and Labour Party were given certificates of return, while the remaining members had theirs revoked.