Popular activist and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has declared that it is wrong for courts to determine winners of elections in Nigeria.
To him, once the right process has been put in place to ensure credible elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and voters should decide winners of polls.
Falana said a situation in which less than 10 judges decide the fate of millions of people in an election is not sustainable democratically.
In his reaction to the Supreme Court judgement on the winner of the February 25 presidential election, he maintained that “it is not ideal for the judiciary to decide winners of elections”.
Supreme Court seven-judge panel led by Justice John Okoro, on Thursday, ruled that President Bola Tinubu (APC) won the election, and not Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Peter Obi (LP).
Falana, a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, insisted that determining winners of election is an exclusive reserve of INEC “if things are done the way they should be done”.
He said: “No doubt the judgement of the Supreme Court ascended the electoral contestation as far as the presidential election conducted in February this year is concerned, but for sure, it is not a judicial endorsement of the conduct of the election by INEC.
“And what I mean is that even with the judgement, it is very clear that Nigeria has a long way to go in terms of ensuring that credible elections are conducted, elections that will be devoid of acrimony, elections that all of us will be proud of, but we are still a long way from there even with the judgement.
“Yes for now, the presidential election is concluded, it should have been concluded in February, but it has just been concluded by the Supreme Court and it should not be so. The judiciary should not determine winners of elections.
“Judges are not suited to determine winners of election; that is a job that is the exclusive reserve of INEC if things are done properly and that is why we must put an end to the shame that has become our law in terms of conducting elections,” Falana said.
The Senior Advocate said that Nigeria must realise at all times that it has the largest concentration of black people on earth and, therefore, has a greater responsibility to put its house in order so that black people will not be insulted all over the world.
He said it doesn’t take much to conduct a good election if politicians are honest and dedicated in the conduct of transparent elections.
