Appeal Court Should Bar Justice Lifu from Sitting as Judge, Says Maxwell Okpara

Human rights lawyer Maxwell Okpara said the Court of Appeal should have ordered Justice Peter Lifu to cease sitting as a judge.

Okpara made the remarks on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s “Morning Show.”

He was responding to Justice Lifu’s judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other political parties.

On Tuesday, the Appeal Court in Abuja issued a stay of execution of that judgment.

Okpara questioned what law students in the judge’s internship program would learn from his recent ruling.

“I want to also thank the Court of Appeal for stepping in to rescue the judiciary. It is not enough for the Court of Appeal to merely describe Justice Lifu’s judgment as a rascality,” he said.

“The Appeal Court should have also issued an order directing that he should stop sitting until the National Judicial Council (NJC) reviews the circumstances that led a lower court to overturn a higher court’s decision and issue a ruling,” Okpara added.

“So, the question now is what the law students attached to that court are learning,” he asked.