According to Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian judges should not overturn decisions made by millions of voters during elections based on the verdicts of three to five judges.
Obasanjo described the powers vested in the hands of a few judges as “totally unacceptable.”
In the wake of the ongoing Court of Appeal judgements on the Nigerian elections of 2023, the former President addressed the issue.
In separate judgements delivered by the Court of Appeal last week, three governors were sacked.
The affected governors are Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Abba Kabir Yusuf in Kano, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State.
The decisions have triggered reactions, earning the judiciary more knocks than kudos.
Speaking at the high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa held at Green Resort Legacy, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo faulted what he labelled “cathedral pronouncements” by the judges.
Obasanjo said “I believe whatever form of democracy we have or whatever system of government we have, three or four men in the judiciary should not be able to overturn the decisions of millions that have voted. Now, we have to find a way to handle that. I don’t know what the way will be but, for me, I think it’s totally unacceptable that millions (of votes), maybe 10m on one side, maybe 9million on the other side. Then, you have five people sitting down. Three of them agree, two disagree. And you come up and make cathedral pronouncements that cannot be changed. I believe that should not be accepted.
“How do we do it? I don’t know. But whatever form of democracy we have, we should look at how to handle this. If you say ‘Go again for the election,’ then what happened to the previous election? I don’t know.
“So, I personally feel strongly about it. It does not matter what you say about the judiciary, but in fact, only five people or seven will sit down. If there are five, three may agree, two may not agree, and the decision of three will be final. All that you have done comes down to the decision of three or the decision of four.”
Source: Daily
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