Revisiting the Outrageous N150m Fine Against PDP BoT

The judgment of Justice Salim Ibrahim of the Federal High Court in Abuja awarding a whopping N140 million against the Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and an additional N10 million personal cost against their counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), is still eliciting reactions about three weeks after it was delivered.

The fine against the plaintiff was for filing a frivolous suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others.

The judge awarded the fine after dismissing the leadership tussle suit for being “an abuse of court process, unmeritorious and lacking in merit.”

The Wabara-led BoT had sought an order of the court compelling INEC to recognise the PDP interim National Working Committee (NWC) faction led by its National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki, on its official website, among others.

Many feel that if the Supreme Court judgment had resolved the crisis in the party, the suit would not have been filed. They posited that it was vague and incongruous by the apex court that necessitated the suit for proper clarity.

They expressed profound alarm and strong condemnation over the High Court’s decision to impose a whopping N150 million costs against the faction.

The frightening magnitude of these financial penalties raises fundamental constitutional questions about whether access to justice is gradually becoming a privilege reserved only for the wealthy and politically connected.

While courts have the authority to award costs in deserving cases, such powers must never be transformed into instruments of intimidation capable of frightening Nigerians away from the temple of justice.

The action of the court risks creating a dangerous precedent capable of discouraging citizens, civil society organisations, political parties and public interest litigants from approaching the courts whenever they perceive that their constitutional or legal rights have been violated.

If litigants must now fear that an unsuccessful action could expose them to crippling financial liabilities running into hundreds of millions of naira, then the constitutional guarantee of access to justice stands gravely imperilled.