It’s ironic that President Tinubu, who’s against coup in Niger Republic, is coercing the judiciary to topple democratically elected opposition governors in his country. Under President Obasanjo, PDP lost Kano and Lagos to opposition parties (APP and AD), and that neither stopped Obasanjo from winning re-election nor PDP from making a back-to-back succession. Kano and Plateau are Nigeria’s magma chambers of conflict. Nothing triggers resort to self-help more than injustice. Leaders are primarily elected to protect the lives and property of the people, not to instigate conflicts.
One thing a lot of people do not know about Kano election case is that there is nothing like 165,000 unsigned ballots tendered before the tribunal. Let me repeat, NOTHING like that. What was brought before the tribunal (Exhibit P5 to P34 and Exhibit P158 to P161) were photocopies of random ballot papers that are NOT more than 10,000. The ballots were never counted in open court. The APC provided mere samples of the ballots without specific pleadings about the PUs they got them from. The irony is that some of the samples are duly signed and stamped. What the tribunal criminally did was to manufacture the numbers in order to award victory to the ruling party, APC.
In Nigeria, the loudest cheerleaders of oppression are the oppressed. If you support injustice against others today, you may have no one to save you when you fall into the oppressor’s crosswire tomorrow. When injustice becomes endemic in a society, no one will be immune to it.
Justice Denied: Questionable Court Rulings Undermine Nigeria's Democracy
The recent rulings by the Abuja Court of Appeal, sacking the Kano state governor and ordering a re-election in three LGAs of Zamfara state, have sent shockwaves across the nation. These judgments have raised serious concerns about the sanctity of the democratic process, and they challenge the very essence of democracy, disregarding the unequivocal choice of the people and undermining their electoral will and weaken the essence of representative governance.
In both states, the evidence clearly shows the people chose Abba Kabir Yusuf and Dauda Lawal as their preferred gubernatorial candidates. These men enjoyed widespread support and were undeniably the candidates who resonated most with the masses, with an overwhelming endorsement from the public even before the electoral process began. The court's decision to nullify their mandates starkly contradicts the democratic principle of honoring the people's choice.
It seems the courts are applying contradictory standards on election disputes. The conflicting legal precedents set by previous court rulings, exemplified by Tinubu vs. Obi case, exacerbate the ambiguity surrounding the judiciary's role in intra-party affairs. In Obi's case, the Court refused to interfere, saying party membership issues are internal party matters. Yet, in Kano, the court overturned Abba Kabir’s election by interfering in party membership issues. So which is it? Do the courts have jurisdiction over party matters that affect elections or not? These inconsistencies in interpreting a candidate's membership and the jurisdiction to intervene in such matters truly undermines judicial credibility and neutrality and cast doubt on the fairness and coherence of the legal framework governing electoral disputes.
It's imperative for the judiciary to reevaluate its role, ensuring that the democratic will of the people remains paramount and unscathed by legal inconsistencies and ambiguities.
We can only hope the Supreme Court will review these cases and make the right call to restore power to the hands of the electorate. True democracy means letting the people decide who governs them, not imposing choices through questionable rulings.
Justice must prevail!
When the majority no longer carries vote, the judiciary no longer respects the sanctity of law, the legislature is at the beck and call of the presidency, then we are no longer practicing democracy. It’s painful that judges are acting like wardens controlling boom barriers, only allowing passage to vehicles authorised by the Oga at the top. This is not democracy!
Below is the 10MW cutting-edge solar power plant jointly owned by @nsia_Nigeria@KanostateNg & Kumbotso Local government area of Kano state
It is the largest solar power plant in Nigeria & could teach other states lessons on the viability of deploying renewable energy solutions.
@DStvNg@DStvNgCare DStv It seems your Kano Office service centre in Kano is not doing well,i took my PVR for repair as d hard disk refuse to format,i was told i can not swap to another unless i pay 30,000 extra,which i felt is a Rip off,so how can i lodge compalint?
Da misalin karfe 10:30 na wannan safiya shirin mu na #ZararBunu a Freedom Radio 99.5FM #Kano, zai tattauna da Dr. Imam Wada Bello (@imagesharfadi93), Sakataren Kwamitin Yakar Cutar #COVID19 a jahar #Kano. Za mu tattauna akan jita-jita da karerayi game rigakafin da Corona @KNSMOH
The #NCDCTeam paid advocacy visits to state health stakeholders in the FCT & Kano to introduce the upcoming #COVID19 Household Seroprevalence Survey.
The survey aims to estimate the burden of #COVID19 infection in these states.
The Crown Prince of Dubai,Sheikh Al Maktoum has paid off the hospital bills of a Nigerian woman who gave birth to quadruplets & got stranded with rising hospital bills after seeing a report on CNN.@abikedabiri probably never even knew of this.