Judicial Analysts Demand Council Intervention Over Questionable Court Rulings

Judicial analysts in Nigeria are urging the National Judicial Council to intervene urgently, citing a pattern of "questionable judgments" and "rascality" from the courts. This call follows a recent decision by a Federal High Court judge to set aside his own earlier ruling that had registered the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

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With the kind of incongruous decisions and “rascality” emanating from the courts in recent months, judicial analysts believe that an urgent intervention by the National Judicial Council has become imperative to prevent justice for sale

Justice Isah Dashen, sitting in Lokoja, nullified his December 10, 2025, judgment, stating it adversely affected the rights of the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which was not part of the original suit. The judge explained that his initial ruling did not consider all parties and ordered the commission to withdraw the registration pending a review. He emphasized that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made and noted that certain facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings.

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all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The ruling has sparked debate among legal observers. They question whether a judge can review their own judgment, essentially acting as an appellate court for their own decisions. Typically, a court of first instance exhausts its powers after issuing a judgment, with exceptions only for extreme circumstances like lack of jurisdiction, improper service, or fraud. Analysts argue that none of these conditions were met in this case. The PMP, which was not a party to the original suit, did not appeal the initial judgment, further complicating the situation.

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certain facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.