Supreme Court Sacks Sheriff

Citing infantile desperation which led him to forum shop from one court to the other, the highest court in the land sacked Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff as the national chairman of the major opposition party in the country.

The apex court also affirmed the appointment of Senator Ahmed Markafi as the chairman of the national caretaker committee of the party.

In a unanimous judgment, the apex court reinstated Makarfi, who was earlier sacked by the Port Harcourt division of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read the lead judgment, written by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, held that contrary to the majority judgment of the Port Harcourt division of the appellate court, the suit filed by Makarfi faction before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt was not an abuse of court process.

Giving reasons why Sheriff cannot be PDP national chairman, their lordships accused him of engaging in forum shopping, saying he “displayed infantile desperation to cling to office at all cost.

”It is on record that Sheriff in his  fatal desire to perpetuate himself in office had filed 10 cases in one year, some of which he abandoned and it will remain in the shelves and gather dust forever”, the court added.

The court warned politicians to desist from this action which, according to them, is capable of dragging the name of the judiciary in the mud.

The apex court awarded the cost of N250,000 against Sheriff and other respondents in the matter.

Not satisfied, the apex court also warned heads of courts to be careful in assigning cases with similar nature and content to different judges, saying they should rather assign such to a single judge to handle.