Nigeria’s democracy heading for calamity unless judiciary retraces steps – IPAC warns

The Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, has noted that democracy in the true sense as ‘government of the people by the people for the people’ is not obtainable in Nigeria.

IPAC said this in a communique issued after a roundtable discussion themed, ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Nigeria’s Democracy Sustainability’, held in Abuja on Wednesday.

The Council said that political leaders and moneybags have played very dangerous and undermining roles in the democratic journey so far, adding that Nigeria’s
democracy has been militarized, and is prone to thuggery.

The event, which was attended by participants cut across stakeholders including government officials, judicial officers, leaders of political parties, development partners, legal practitioners, civil society organizations, security agencies, academics and researchers, and the media.

The Council noted that Nigerians allowed what the law prohibited as instrument of installing leadership in power, adding that the people have been impoverished as a result.

The communique read, “Many Nigerian politicians used all manners of manipulative antics and tactics to impose themselves in power knowingly fully well that there will be no remedy and consequences at the end of the day.

“In all of these, the judiciary which is the institution that has the duty to hold politicians accountable appears to have been unable to do so efficiently, for reasons not far from Nigerian factors.

“It is sad and terrible that the brand of democracy in Nigeria is by getting power through the barrel of the guns and thuggery and punish people by looting and bragging as saint but worse than Satan in actions and decisions.

“That is Nigerian brand of democracy. Nothing is done decently. The future is bleak for democracy and electoral jurisprudence in Nigeria. Nigerian democracy may head to a calamitous end unless the judiciary and legal profession retrace their steps in the kind of judgments being delivered in electoral matters by the Nigerian judiciary.

“The role of the judiciary, particularly through election tribunals, is indispensable for upholding and sustaining democratic principles in Nigeria. The judiciary ensures the fair resolution of electoral disputes, upholds the rule of law, promotes accountability, safeguards democratic values, boosts public confidence in democracy, and sets legal precedents for the future.

“The commitment of the judiciary to these responsibilities is crucial in securing a robust and thriving democracy in Nigeria, where the voice of the people is respected, and the democratic process is transparent and just.

“In Nigeria, as in many democratic nations, Nigerians and our laws expect the Nigerian judiciary to play crucial roles in preserving and protecting democratic governance and the integrity of democracy through election tribunals and courts by adjudicating electoral disputes

“All over the world, historical jurisprudence has shown that members of the legal profession, who are the producers of the judiciary in their respective countries, play significant roles through the judicial institutions for good governance and accountability.

“The Court and indeed all Courts in Nigeria have a duty which flows from a power granted by the Constitution of Nigeria to ensure that citizens of Nigeria, high and low get the justice which their case deserves. The powers of the Courts are derived from the Constitution not at the sufferance or generosity of any other arm of the Government of Nigeria. The judiciary like all citizens of this country cannot be a passive on-looker when any person attempts to subvert the administration of justice and will not hesitate to use the powers available to it to do justice in the cases before it.

“Gradually, there is no hope of getting justice in electoral jurisprudence by those who are robbed of victories at the polls either by thuggish approaches or by outright INEC collusion with those they are ordered to be declared in breach of the sovereignty of the people.

“Many decisions are at variance with legal logic and constitution and previous decisions of our courts.

“Judgments of courts and or Tribunals ought to contain and serve the end of justice, the interest of those who were wrongly denied opportunities at the polls and those who voted for them. But alas, that is not the case in most cases of judgments in electoral matters.

“The kind of electoral judgments from our courts which in most cases are devoid of justice has made many people to lose hope in the potential good and purpose of justice and democracy in the Nigerian State.

“Any justice system that does not produced proportional fairness and quality justice to the vast majority of the people in the society cannot be described as justice.

“The primary duty of the judiciary is to interpret the law and not to dabble into political partisanship in the consideration of matters before them. The judiciary is the light that must shine in darkness and not allow darkness to overcome it in its constitutional role of adjudication.

“The image of the judiciary is on trial in the eyes of reasonable men and women in Nigeria. The Nigerian judiciary must not disappoint the nation. The judiciary cannot continue to approve deliberate breaches of our rules and regulations in elections on the platform of substantial compliance.

“Any substantial compliance with faulty foundations cannot be treated as substantial compliance.”