Court has no business in deciding election results, lawyer tells Nigerians
A group, Niger Delta Comrades Assembly (NDCA), yesterday, called on the Nigerian Judicial Commission (NJC) to relocate all Election Tribunal Appeal cases in Delta State to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to douse the looming tension in the state.
The National Speaker of the group, Lebari Young, who made the call at a press briefing in Asaba, said that it is to avert the brewing tension and agitations emanating from opposition parties, which were not satisfied with judgements of the election petition tribunal in the state.
Young explained that transferring the cases to Abuja for adjudication will afford all parties in the election matter a level playing ground to defend their case without interference, intimidation and or harassment by the powers that be in the state.
According to Young, the brewing political tensions in the state, following election tribunal verdicts recently must be addressed forthwith.
He said: “What we do not want as a group is aggrieved persons hijacking the peace and tranquility currently being enjoyed in Delta State, as there seems to be growing tension in the camp of those who lost to their opponents at the various tribunals.”
He observed that post-election litigations in Nigeria have become constant as the Northern star, which questions the integrity of our electoral umpires. But it is important to point this out as an issue that should be handled swiftly and carefully by the government to avert unnecessary agitations that may lead to breakdown of law and order in the state.
MEANWHILE, Nigerian United States (US)-based lawyer, Chris Okobah, has tasked Nigerians to tighten the knots of the nation’s electoral system to stop the judiciary from deciding election results.
Okobah said the call became necessary because the court has become a place where the political class always runs to after manipulating the electoral system to have their ways.
Speaking with The Guardian in Asaba, yesterday, Okobah, who arrived Nigeria from the US recently, said the court is becoming a guff, bleeding ground for electoral frauds, which is causing more harm than good to the country’s democracy, saying that it is no longer the last hope of the common man.
He said the uncertainty and confusion in the air, following recent court Judgements, show that the court is now the last hope of corrupt politicians, because they get what they want, after all.
