Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that there is a plot to harass and undermine the judiciary to compromise the proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Court  (PEPC).

However, in a swift reaction, the Presidency in a statement, said that Atiku’s bid to blackmail the judiciary would fail. It noted that if the former vice president believes in democracy and the sanctity of the judiciary, as claimed, he would not engage in making spurious and wild allegations aimed at disparaging and discrediting an important arm of government that should serve as the bulwark  for our democracy. 

Atiku’s apprehension is coming as the PEPC moves to conclude its proceedings.  A statement signed by Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that, “as proceedings on the controversial February 25 election continues at the court, there have been threats from the ruling party that aim to intimidate the judiciary from serving the duty of justice.”

The statement added: “Now, they have initiated a new plot. This time around, they want to intimidate the judges into delivering favourable judgments for them at the election tribunal. We draw the attention of the international community and, indeed, Nigerians to this fresh plot to steal the mandate of over 200 million people.

“We are also urging Nigerians to abide by the golden rule of eternal vigilance being the price of liberty.

“On this note, we appeal to all security agencies in the country to remain professional in the discharge of their duties and resist being used as an instrument of oppression and intimidation against the judiciary.”

According to Atiku, “it is regrettable that the APC and, indeed, agents of President Bola Tinubu have ceaselessly chosen to stand in the way of justice by making catastrophic threats to anarchy if justice is not served according to their whims.”

Atiku further stated that other reports in the media about some heinous plots to harass Justices sitting on the petition are ominous to the peace and security of the nation.

He noted that, “our democracy gives the people of Nigeria the powers to choose their leaders, and our laws demand that our judiciary must be allowed to act independently without harassment and intimidation by the government or powerful interests.”

“To compromise the workings of our democracy and seeking to compromise the workings of our judiciary is an open call for anarchy,” he added.

The former vice president said, “as a party in the litigation that is currently reviewing the outcome of the last presidential election, we wish to express our intentions to do all that is within the law in resisting any attempt to undermine our fragile democracy.”

He called on the international community to be on the alert just as he stressed that Nigeria’s democracy should not be undermined by using the judiciary to serve the interest of the ruling party.

Atiku recalled that in 2019, the APC-led Federal Government removed the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, when it was obvious that he would not bend to their will.

“The Department of State Services (DSS) similarly stormed the homes of judges in 2016 and 2017, all in a bid to beat the judiciary into submission.

“The plot of the APC is simple: intimidate the judiciary, threaten judges with arrest so that they will bow to their will. This is a playbook from 2019 when they removed the CJN and then replaced him with Tanko Muhammad, who himself was later accused of corruption by his colleagues at the Supreme Court and resigned shamefully,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, the Presidency urged the former vice president to by honourable enough as a statesman to allow the Judiciary perform its sacred duty without harassment.

The full statement read: “We have read the laughable and jejune statement by former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Candidate in the last election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. 

“It is obvious that having been thoroughly defeated by the All Progressives Congress and now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former Vice President has not fully recovered from the shock of defeat, hence the current attempt to mischievously rake up another round of inanities that offend basic logic and rational thinking. 

“In the ill-thought out and illogical statement, Alhaji Atiku accused the current administration of the governing APC of plotting to undermine the judiciary without providing any shred of evidence. Apart from innuendos, insinuations and outright lies contained in the said press statement, the former Vice President Atiku didn’t put forward any convincing argument to support his claims on how the President Tinubu-led administration and APC sought to undercut,  undermine and compromise the judiciary. 

“If the former vice president believes in democracy and the sanctity of the judiciary, as claimed, he would not engage in making spurious and wild allegations aimed at disparaging and discrediting an important arm of government that should serve as the bulwark  for our democracy. 

“He shamelessly resorted to this cheap attempt to intimidate and blackmail the judiciary even when he is  party to a case before the Presidential Election Tribunal.

“Let it be said that when it comes to matters of fighting for democracy and democratic ideals, rule of law and independence of judiciary in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu stands shoulder above Atiku Abubakar. When President Tinubu was leading the charge against the emasculation of the judiciary and promoting the sanctity of rule of law as the building block for good governance as Governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007, under a PDP central government, Alhaji Atiku was nowhere to be found. 

“It is on record and to his eternal credit that President Tinubu, through the instrumentality of the law and judiciary, successfully challenged many of the draconian and obnoxious decisions of the PDP-led Federal Government that trampled on the rights of the states as federating units. Lagos State under the leadership of the then Governor Tinubu won over 13 cases up to the Supreme Court against the hydra-headed PDP administration at the centre. 

“No leader with such a sterling and enviable credential as a champion of rule of law, independence of judiciary like President Tinubu will ever contemplate undermining the judiciary as alleged by Alhaji Atiku.

“President Tinubu won a free, fair and credible election. The February 25th, 2023 presidential election that produced him is the most transparent election ever conducted in Nigeria since 1999. 

“President Tinubu and the APC absolutely have no reason to undermine the judiciary in the hope of any favourable judgment. 
His lawyers and that of APC have presented very solid defence of the result of the election and we are sure the judiciary will impartially deliver its ruling on the basis of points of law and evidence before it, not based on presumptuous speculations and unfounded accusations. 

“Atiku Abubakar should be honourable enough as a statesman to allow the judiciary perform its sacred duty without harassment and this resort to self-help. Attempting to discredit an important institution of State for selfish political end is disingenuous, shameful and unbecoming of a former vice president of Nigeria. This desperation must stop.”