Former Associate Deputy U.S. Attorney General, Mr. Bruce Fein will deliver a keynote address at a symposium designed to draw global attention to the crisis in Nigeria’s judiciary sparked by a contentious judgement of the Supreme Court mid January that resulted in the sacking of Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, an elected governor of Imo State, in the South- East of the country.
The sacked governor, Mr. Ihedioha is expected to file a suit on Monday asking the Supreme Court to reverse the controversial ruling which had led to a series of protests by PDP leaders across the country, including a recent one to the US and British Embassies in Abuja
The judgement of the apex court which ushered in Senator Hope Uzodinma of the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC) as the duly elected governor of the state after Mr. Ihedioha of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) spent about six months in office has sparked a huge controversy among Nigerians both at home, and in the Diaspora with the integrity of the country’s judiciary becoming more questionable than ever before.
The controversial ruling of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice ibrahim Tanko Muhammed came a few months after another contentious ruling that affirmed incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the 2019 presidential polls which has been regarded as the most corrupt in the country’s history.
Slated for February 5, 2020 at the prestigious National Press Club, Washington DC by noon, Mr. Fein, an eminent constitutional constitutional lawyer will be joined by W. Bruce DelValle, a Nigerian legal expert to discuss the implications of the Imo state election ruling on the country’s young democracy which has come under severe threat as a result of dictatorial tendencies by the Buhari administration since it assumed office in 2015.
The event which is organized under the auspices of the US Council on Nigeria, according to Attorney Lloyd Ukwu, a key facilitator of the Council is to mirror the gradual collapse of Nigeria’s democracy and the need for appropriate interventions to curb a possible global crisis that could be triggered in the event that the country slides into anarchy.
He described Mr. Fein as a foremost constitutional lawyer who is well-equipped intellectually to discuss the decay in the Nigerian judiciary in a manner that will generate interests in judicial reforms and restructuring for a better dispensing of electoral matters by the courts.
The Media Coordinator of the event, Mr. Zoobee Chukwurah told our correspondent in an interview that he was mobilizing politically conscious elements in the Washington DC Metro area to attend the event. He said ‘injustice to Mbaise, South East or Nigerians at large is injustice to all.’
Source: The Southern Examiner
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