By James Ameh

ABUJA----The Supreme Court, Friday, declined to set its judgement sacking all candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who won various elections in Zamfara State during the 2019 polls.

The court, in a maority judgement of four -to -one decision by a five- man panel of Justices led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, JCN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, chided the APC for abusing the judicial process by asking it to review its final judgement "through the back door."

The court said that the Supreme Court, by its Order 8 Rule 16, lacked the jurisdiction to tamper with its final judgement on any matter, except to correct clerical errors arising from an accidental slip, or to vary a judgement or order, so as to give the intended meaning. 

Justice Inyang Okoro delivered the lead judgement, saying that the application, brought by a faction of the APC led by the immediate past Governor of Zamfara State, Ahldulaziz Yari, was bound to fail.

His words, "There is a total prohibition to the review for f a judgement which accurately represented what the court implied. Such judgement cannot be varied. 

"Our forebears did not leave any one in doubt that judgement of the Supreme Court, once delivered, shall not be over- rided."

Relying on several decided cases, Okoro said that the finality of judgement of the Supreme Court "is final for all ages," and could only be altered through legislation. 

"The finality of judgement of the Supreme Court is sealed. No one is allowed to file an appeal through the backdoor, no matter how the processes are disguised," he stated, and then 

awarded N2million cost against the applicants.

He further enjoined political parties to always obey their own constitution and play by the rules of the game. 

"Where any political party neglects, refuses or fails to follow the rule of the game, the hammer of the court will always fall on them," he added. Three other members of the panel agreed with Justice Okoro's ruling but Justice Centus oChima Nweze, gave a dissenting opinion, pointing out that the Supreme Court has the power to set-aside any judgement given by it in error. 

Nweze, said that the Supreme Court, made a wrong consequential order, when it directed that candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that got the second highest number of votes in the election, should be sworn in.

He said the Supreme Court was not "a Father Christmas" to give benefits to candidates that were not parties in an intra-party dispute involving only members of the APC. 

According to Nweze, "This court has the power to overrule itself when its judgement was entered in error. It is better to admit any error than to abide in error."

He then said that the reliance on finality of the judgement of the Supreme Court was not sufficient to extinguish the tenets of justice, especially when the judgement was given in error, even as he disagreed with the CJN and the other three Justices on the panel, saying that the consequential order of the Supreme Court which handed PDP victory in Zamfara State, was a nullity. 

Nweze also gave a dissenting ruling in the judgement of the apex court, upholding the nullification of Hon Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as governor of Imo State in favour of Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC.