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Says democracy is main victim of S’Court ruling
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Faults INEC was incompetent in conduct of 2023 poll
Peter Obi, candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election has berated the apex court’s judgment as “a total breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have in the judiciary, barely two weeks after the Supreme Court ended the controversy surrounding the outcome of the February 25, 2023, ,
While addressing the press in Abuja on Monday, Obi said the country’s democracy was the main victim and casualty of the court’s decision.
Recall that on October 26 the Supreme Court had ended the 171-day legal tussle to nullify the election of the President with the rejection of appeals filed by Obi and Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But Obi said that the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.
The former governor of Anambra State claimed that the court’s ruling went against the overwhelming evidence of election rigging, false claim of a technical glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of the election matter.
This is as he lambasted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as having displayed incompetence in its statutory duty.
Though Obi and his running mate, Dati Baba Ahmed, strongly disagree with the Supreme Court and the tribunal’s rulings regarding the election’s outcome, he acknowledged that the apex court represents the last resort in the pursuit of legal resolution.
Obi further reiterated his commitment to building a new and better Nigeria, declaring that his mission and mandate remain unchanged.
“Datti and I have now exhausted all legal and constitutional remedies available to us.
“As someone who has previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters, I have, after a period of deep and sober reflection, decided to personally and formally react to the recent judgment as most Nigerians have.
Because we are confronted with very weighty issues of national interest, I will speak forthrightly.
“As students’ young lads at CKC, Onitsha, we were taught values and admonished to always; “choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong.”
“More appalling, the Supreme Court judgment willfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications and parameters for candidates in presidential elections.
“With this counter-intuitive judgment, the Supreme Court has transferred a heavy moral burden from the courtrooms to our national conscience. Our young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom drama.
“Without equivocation, this judgment amounts to a total breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have in our judiciary. To that extent, it is a show of unreasonable force against the very Nigerian people from whom the power of the Constitution derives. This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive justice.
“The judgment mixed principles and precepts. Indeed, the rationale and premise of the Supreme Court judgment have become clearer in the light of the deep revealing and troubling valedictory remarks by Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, (JSC) on Friday 27th October 2023.
“Where the value and import of the recent Supreme Court ruling ends is where our commitment to a New Nigeria begins. This end is only another beginning in our quest for the vindication of the hope of the common man for a better country. After all, sovereignty belongs to the people! If only for historical purposes, it behooves us to place our disagreement with and deep reservations about this judgment on public record.
“From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a new Nigeria. It is a new nation where things work,” he added.
“In the lead judgment delivered by the Chairman of the seven-man panel, Justice Inyang Okoro, the apex court refused to consider the academic records of the President obtained from the Chicago State University, which Atiku sought to tender as fresh evidence to prove his allegation of certificate forgery against the ex-Lagos governor.
“The other justices on the panel-Uwani Aji, Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Abubakar Tijjani, and Emmanuel Agim, agreed with the lead judgment dismissing Atiku and Obi’s appeals.
“The LP candidate was however quick to add that it gladdened his heart to know the alleged rationale behind the judgment, which was eventually brought to light during the ‘troubling valedictory remarks by Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad on October 27.
He said, “Setting legal issues aside, the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.
“It is, therefore, with great dismay I observe that the Court’s decision contradicts the overwhelming evidence of election rigging, false claim of a technical glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of this election matter.
“These were hefty allegations that should not to be treated with levity. More appalling, the Supreme Court judgment willfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications and parameters for candidates in presidential elections. With this counter-intuitive judgment, the Supreme Court has transferred a heavy moral burden from the courtrooms to our national conscience. Our young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom drama.
“Without equivocation, this judgment amounts to a total breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have in our judiciary.
“To that extent, it is a show of unreasonable force against the very Nigerian people from whom the power of the Constitution derives. This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive justice.
The judgment mixed principles and precepts. Indeed, the rationale and premise of the Supreme Court judgment have become clearer in the light of the deep revealing and troubling valedictory remarks by Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, on Friday 27th October 2023,”he added.
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