Although the Supreme Court finally rested the election battle in Io State in favor of Hope Uzordinma, the minority judgement by one of the justices favors Emeka Ihedioha.
Ihedioha was removed for Uzordinma, a decision that the first asked the Supreme Court to review.
The seven-man panel, however, thrashed the call for review on Tuesday, with only one of them, Justice Nweze, dissenting.
Nweze said: “This decision of the Supreme Court will continue to haunt our electoral jurisprudence for a long time to come.
“In my intimate reading of the January 14 judgment, the substance of Ihedioha’s matter was lost to time frame.
“This Court once set aside its own earlier judgment and therefore cannot use time frame to extinguish the right of any person.
“This Court has powers to over rule itself and can revisit any decision not in accordance with justice.
“This decision of the Supreme Court will continue to haunt our electoral jurisprudence for a long time to come.
“This Court has a duty of redeeming its image.
“I am of the view that this application should succeed. I hereby make an order setting aside the decision of this Court made on Jan. 14 and that the certificate of return issued to the appellant be returned to INEC.
“I also make an order restoring the respondents as winner of the March 9 governorship election.”
The panel was led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad, with Justice Kayode Ariwoola reading the majority verdict, said;
“Certainly this court has no inherent power to grant what is being sought, it is beyond the powers of this Court. There is no Constitutional provisions for this court to review its own judgment.
“To say the least, this court has no competence and lacked power to sit on appeal in its own decision. Finality of the Supreme Court is entrenched in the constitution and inherent power can only be invoked where there is law to do so.
“This court cannot under any guise alter any judgment under any inherent power, as doing so would bring the court into disrepute and ridicule.
“The application is liable for dismissal and is hereby dismissed for want of jurisdiction and competence.”
