The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has said he asked the President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa to withdraw from the presidential election petition tribunal because of the principle of natural justice which forbids someone to be a judge in his own cause.
Mr. Abubakar explained this in a statement on Thursday, noting his legal team’s objection was not a reflection on Justice Bulkachuwa’s character or competence.
“As a matter of fact, I have great respect for her, being a pioneer and advocate for gender equality and female empowerment,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mrs Bulkachuwa refused herself on “personal grounds” from the panel hearing Abubakar’s election petition, challenging the victory of president Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in that election.
Mr Abubakar and his party, PDP, had asked Mrs Bulkachuwa to withdraw from the five-member panel she headed, saying her husband is a Bauchi senator-elect on the APC platform. Her son was said to have also contested the governorship primary on the same platform.
The tribunal refused to see the possibility of bias, saying Mrs Bulkachuwa’s husband was not a party to the suit.
Despite the ruling, Justice Bulkachuwa however went ahead and recused herself.
Read Mr Abubakar’s full statement below:
One of the principal maxims of the Common Law is nemo judex in causa sua (no man shall be a judge in his own case). The call by my legal team for Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa to recuse herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was predicated on this principle, being that her husband, Alhaji Mohammed Bulkachuwa, is an All Progressives Congress Senator-elect and the case she was expected to adjudicate upon had a bearing on that party.
My legal team’s objection was not a reflection on Justice Bulkachuwa’s character or competence. As a matter of fact, I have great respect for her, being a pioneer and advocate for gender equality and female empowerment.
It is with this in mind that I commend Justice Bulkachuwa for recusing herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Panel hearing my petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari.
Her action showed courage and is an act of patriotism. She has, by this action, increased the confidence the public have for the judiciary.
Not only do I commend her, I also pray, especially in this holy month of Ramadan, that Justice will be done by the tribunal according to the fear of God and not in keeping with respect for the powers that be.
May God bless the judiciary and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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