Court bars ex-minister from holding public office over ‘kangaroo judgment’ remark

A high court of the federal capital territory has barred Pauline Tallen, former minister of women affairs and social development, from holding public.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, the court condemned Tallen’s “disparaging comments” against the judiciary over a decision of the federal high court in Adamawa last year.

The court in Yola, the Adamawa state capital, had nullified the candidacy of Aishatu Dahiru, better known as Binani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Adamawa in the last general election.

However, Tallen expressed her dissatisfaction with the court’s decision, calling it a “Kangaroo judgment” and advising Nigerians to reject it.

Afterwards, Yakubu Maikyau, president of the NBA, wrote to the former minister, asking her to withdraw the comments and tender an unreserved apology to the court for the “disparaging and contemptuous remarks”.

The NBA had threatened to institute a suit against Tallen if she failed to withdraw her statement.

But the NBA claimed the letter was never responded to hence, the suit marked CV/816/2016, was filed.

In the judgment on Monday, the court declared that the said remark of Tallen was unconstitutional, careless, reckless, disparaging, a call to disobey the judgment of the court and therefore contemptuous of the federal high court of Nigeria.

The court also granted among other reliefs, an injunction restraining the ex-minister from holding any public office in Nigeria, unless she purges herself of the conduct by publishing a personally signed apology letter to Nigerians and the judiciary in full pages of two national newspapers.

The court ordered that the injunction restraining the defendant from holding any public office in Nigeria shall become perpetual if she fails to abide by the order directing her to publish an apology within 30 days.