Women for Justice group in Nasarawa State has said its nine-month-old protest in the state is a sacrifice to ensure democracy is not strangulated by greedy power-mongers, who will go any length to twist the electoral process against people’s wishes.

The group, which had engaged in peaceful protest since March 29, 2023, said women in the state had no other option than to embark on protest to express their pains over sharp practices by the electoral empire and a segment of the judiciary while handling the citizens’ mandate.

Speaking to journalists in Lafia, yesterday, one of the women leaders of the group, Lydia Auta, described the protest by widows and aged women in the state as a fight to ensure that democracy survives in the state and the country at large.

She said: “Our pain is about our votes. We voted massively for David Ombugadu, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) came up with a result that was not a true reflection of the governorship election.”

“The whole world is aware of the manipulations in Gayam and Chiroma wards in Lafia. It will amount to murdering democracy, if the Supreme Court, which we all hold in high esteem, decides to ignore what happened in those two wards on technical grounds.”

Another woman, Jemilatu Huseini, also noted that while the “men have chosen to remain silent,” the women, who are the ones that feel more of the heat in the society, decided to vent the pains of Nasarawa residents since INEC announced the governorship result.

“If democracy states that majority votes decide who becomes the leader, then the judiciary, who are the interpreters of laws in a democracy, must ensure equity, merit and justice in the interest of democracy. Justice must be seen to be done.”

The women appealed to the judiciary not to succumb to pressure from the powers-that-be, but do justice to the issues that took place at Gayam and Chiroma wards in Lafia, where total number of votes awarded to Governor Abdullahi Sule in the election was far more than the registered voters in both wards.

The women are, however, calling on the judiciary to sustain democracy by delivering judgment in the fear of God and rule of law.

The women vowed to be resilient in protest till their mandate is restored.