Clement Jimbo, a member of the House of Representatives from Akwa Ibom State, has urged the National Assembly to engage the judiciary in ensuring that court judgements are delivered in clear and unambiguous terms.
Raising a motion on personal explanation during Tuesday’s plenary, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker expressed concern over what he described as a growing trend of court rulings open to multiple interpretations, which he said often lead to confusion and worsen political crises.
“A judgement that is subject to different interpretations by the parties—where the litigant says the court’s judgement means one thing, and the plaintiff claims it means another—is conflicting,” Jimbo stated, warning that such ambiguity erodes public confidence in the judicial system.
He cited ongoing leadership tussles within several opposition parties, including the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), as examples where unclear court rulings have intensified internal party disputes.
Jimbo urged his colleagues to advise the judiciary to make their decisions more accessible to Nigerians by using plain language and straightforward reasoning.
“As members of parliament, it is important for us to advise our judiciary that judgements of courts should be simple, with clear explanation and simple English devoid of any ambiguity, so that any party that reads the judgement can understand and derive one interpretation,” he said.
“We are elected to make laws for the progress, prosperity, and security of our nation, and where judgements from our courts hinder that responsibility, it becomes a matter of concern.”
He added that lawmakers must not remain passive while judicial pronouncements continue to create confusion and uncertainty in the polity.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary, acknowledged the point of order and noted it for the record.
