Victor EzejaPresidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the February 25 election, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of making attempts to obstruct justice and undermine Nigeria’s democracy.
The former Vice President in a statement on Saturday, signed by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that the APC has initiated a new plot to intimidate judges to deliver judgement favourable to the party in the presidential election petition pending before the tribunal.
Ibe said the February 25 presidential election was deeply flawed which made Atiku and other political parties to seek redress in court over the outcome of the polls.
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He noted that with the kind of interpretations given to the Nigerian laws, the judiciary has been a major building block for the nation’s democracy.
He said that in every democratic system, there is a principle of separation of powers and the independence of judiciary, “but 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,” he stated.
“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.
“These and reports in the media about some heinous plots to harass justices sitting on the petition are ominous to peace and the security of our nation.”
He said that while democracy gives the people power to elect their leaders, the laws demand that the judiciary must be allowed to act independently without undue interference, and warned that any attempt to “compromise the workings of our judiciary is an open call for anarchy.”
Continuing he 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.
“Indeed, we are using this channel to call on the international community to be alerted.
“Nigeria’s democracy should not be undermined by using the judiciary to serve the interest of the ruling party.”
He called on Nigerians and the international community to be at alert and observe happenings in the Judiciary and the democratic system.
“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,” the statement added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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