Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Jibrin Okutepa, has criticised the Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and other political parties, describing the development as a case of judicial insubordination.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, Okutepa argued that lower courts are bound by law to obey and enforce decisions of higher courts, irrespective of whether they agree with such rulings.
According to him, the judgment appeared inconsistent with established judicial hierarchy and the principle that decisions of appellate courts are binding on lower courts.
The senior lawyer stressed that under Nigerian law, a High Court has a mandatory duty to comply with and enforce orders of the Court of Appeal without questioning their correctness.
He maintained that the rule of law requires strict adherence to judicial authority, noting that no individual or institution should challenge the decisions of a competent court.
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