The All Progressives Congress (APC) has charged President Goodluck Jonathan to stop what it called “his administration’s brazen assault on the judiciary” by ordering the immediate withdrawal of the security agents deployed to block the resumption of the courts in Ekiti, as ordered by the National Judicial Commission (NJC), chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the act of deploying security agents to prevent the courts from re-opening as directed by the NJC amounted to undermining the judiciary and the constitution.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is the head of the judiciary, ordered that courts in Ekiti must re-open and that security personnel should do their jobs by providing security.
“Instead, the security agents were willfully deployed to prevent the courts from opening. This violation flies in the face of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This undemocratic encroachment and erosion portend great danger for our nation and constitute a threat to our democracy.
“The Presidency is not constitutionally in any role able to second guess, override or reverse the judiciary. Our constitutional democracy recognises separation of powers and the constitution clearly identifies the scope of each organ’s powers and the head of each branch. This administration’s conduct in frustrating an order of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the NJC is lawlessness and illegality.
“The Presidency is implicitly conveying the message that it is unnecessary to obey the judiciary. The result of such conduct are anarchy and chaos.
“Essentially, the PDP-led Administration of President Jonathan is holding litigants to ransom, preventing and perverting the course of justice, and restricting access to the common man’s last hope.
“This action is tantamount to arresting a judgment, something the bar and bench consider with the utmost vile,’’ it warned.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the barricading of the High Court of Justice Complex, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, by security agencies and called for the immediate opening of the court to allow staff and litigants unhindered access into the court.
In a statement yesterday, by the NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN), the association believed that any alleged bomb threat must have been effectively neutralised by security agencies utilising their bomb disposal units.
APC said the truth of the matter is that it is the Presidency that is encouraging both the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police and the Brigade Commander to thwart the directives of the NJC by deploying security agents to seal the court, under the pretext of some phantom security reports.
The party said the entire plot was simply aimed at ensuring that the courts would not be opened until Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose is sworn in.

Ekiti: Stop assault on judiciary, APC tells Jonathan