S’court judgment: Judiciary has become lost hope of common man, says Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has rejected the judgment of the supreme court that affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, said this during a press conference in Abuja.

Speaking on the verdict of the supreme court, Abubakar criticised the electoral body and the judiciary for defending “illegality”.

Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party had challenged the outcome of the February 25 election and the verdict of the tribunal affirming the election of Tinubu as president.

On October 26, the apex court dismissed the appeals of both candidates and upheld the verdict of the lower court after scolding the appellants.

Abubakar said he and the PDP presented “irrefutable evidence” of “gross” irregularities, violence, and manipulations during the elections.

“We showed incontrovertible evidence that INEC violated the electoral act and deliberately sabotaged its own publicly announced processes and procedures in order to illegally declare Tinubu elected,” he said.

“The position of the supreme court, even though final, leaves so much unanswered.

“Even the rebuke by retired justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad is a confirmation from within the apex court that all is not well with the supreme court.

“The court and indeed the judiciary must never lend itself to politicization as it is currently the norm with nearly every institution in Nigeria.

“By the way, the strong rebuke of the apex court by the revered justice, who had meritoriously served for more than four decades, should not be swept under the carpet.

“The alarm raised by Justice Muhammad and recently, former INEC chairman, prof Attahiru Jega, offers Nigerians an explanation into why the electoral and judicial system have become the lost hope of the common man.

“Judges are no longer appointed based on merit but are products of the interplay of politics and nepotism. Worse still, the appointment of electoral officials has also been hijacked by the ruling party as seen in the latest nomination of resident electoral commissioners where card-carrying members of the ruling party and aides to politicians in the APC are being appointed into INEC.”

Abubakar said he and other well-meaning Nigerians have done their bit to ensure that the nation’s democratic process enjoys the “privilege of full disclosure of the character deficiencies of the current political leadership”.

“I also believe that even if the supreme court believes otherwise, the purpose of technology in our electoral system is to enhance transparency and not merely as a viewing centre. We have to move with the world and not be stuck in time,” he said.

‘SUPREME COURT AFFIRMED ILLEGALITY’

The former vice-president claimed that the judgment of the apex court implies that an incompetent and unqualified individual can contest and win an election in Nigeria.

“Someone asked me what I would do if I lost my election petition appeal at the supreme court: In response, I said that as long as Nigeria wins, the struggle would have been worth the while,” he said.

“By that, I meant that the bigger loss would not be mine but Nigeria’s if the supreme court legitimizes illegality, including forgery, identity theft, and perjury.

“If the supreme court, the highest court in the land, implies by its judgment that crime is good and should be rewarded, then Nigeria has lost and the country is doomed irrespective of who occupies the presidential seat.”