Nigeria Has Had Cases Similar To Current Presidential Petitions Before Which Didn’t Favour The Applicants –Falana

Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) has stated Nigeria has lamented that Nigeria has the “highest sequence of pre-election cases on this planet and the very highest sequence of election petitions”.

The Senior Recommend of Nigeria added that the disclose have to be a subject of anguish to “forces of democracy”.

Falana disclosed this while commenting on the 2023 overall elections including the presidential poll gained by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.

Four presidential candidates had approached the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja with separate petitions, searching out for the nullification of the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential poll.

Falana stated Nigeria has had cases of this nature earlier than which didn’t toddle in favour of the petitioners.

The petitioners, searching out for the nullification of Tinubu’s emergence as ‘President-elect’ are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Occasion; Peter Obi of the Labour Occasion; Solomon Okangbuan of the Action Alliance and Chichi Ojei of the Allied Other folks’s Circulate.

Atiku got right here second with 6,984,520 votes; while Obi got right here third with 6,101,533 votes.

The petition by Obi and LP, marked CA/PEPC/03/2023, had INEC, Tinubu, his working mate, Shettima Kashim, and the APC as respondents.

In the petition, Obi extra contended that Tinubu “became once now not duly elected by majority of the neutral votes forged on the time of the election.”

Obi claimed there became once rigging in 11 states, adding that he would expose this in the declaration of outcomes per the uploaded outcomes.

In response, Falana stated lots will count on the proof produced by the petitioners.

He stated, “Lots is dependent on the proof produced by the petitioners but I am now not in any intention pessimistic having regards to our historical past when it comes to the election petition, I can explain you that for me, it’s a long way terribly annoying and I even bear made the level over and over. We cannot proceed to involve the judiciary in the elections of the representative of our folks. We have to the least bit times build that lay to relaxation.

“We bear thought that with enough reform of the electoral design, by now we have to be taking the court docket out of the electoral design. I am shy as a lawyer that Nigerians are now asserting the election has been moved to the court docket. That is now not very complimentary.

“But as I did remark somewhere else, Nigeria has the very highest sequence of pre-election cases on this planet and the very highest sequence of election petitions. It will likely be a subject of anguish to all precise forces of democracy.”

Falana added, “We bear had cases of this nature earlier than…but yes! (it has now not been in favour of the particular particular individual that made the application in opposition to the quit consequence) but all some other time, I return to the 2007 presidential election.”

Essentially primarily based on him, the 2007 judgment became once split with four in opposition to three justices of the Supreme Court docket so it became once a judgement which also can bear long gone either intention.

“So, as I stated earlier, it’s a long way dependent on the proof produced. About a African worldwide locations, their presidential elections had been annulled by the court docket, and in Nigeria, a sequence of election petitions in the explain bear succeeded in which the sitting governor has been eradicated. So, there mustn’t be any course for terror,” he stated.

Mr Falana additionally faulted the non-implementation of the suggestions forwarded by the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Panel by governments that succeeded the unhurried President Umaru Yar’Adua on the systematic failure that characterised electoral petitions.

He persisted: “I am now not a stakeholder but whereas the Yar’Adua executive role up the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Panel to hunt at this downside as a result of the winner of the election did remark publicly that the election that produced me became once extremely incorrect and as a result of this truth, I will build an quit to this horrifying vogue.

“And the panel got right here up with profound tips on total independence of the INEC, conclusion of the election petition earlier than the inauguration of a recent executive, the constructing of an electoral offences fee to contend with electoral offences and malfeasances so that Attorney-General will now not conclude these cases by submitting application for nolle prosequi.

“But what has took place is that successive governments bear neutral straight away not authorized these significant suggestions. That is why we are the build we are.”