How can a politician say that he will do what he likes and who doesn’t like it should go to court
Emmanuel Thomas l Friday, April 14, 2023
LAGOS, Nigeria – Former Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini has advised judges, especially those saddled with disputes pertaining to the elections to remain very strict to discourage politicians from seeing the judiciary as a haven to legitimize wrong conduct.
Mike Igini, who was one of those that rallied Nigerians for the election, moving them to place implicit trust in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to deliver free, fair and credible election spoke on Arise News.
He said the Amended Electoral Act has what it takes to make the 2023 general election free, fair and credible and reduce pressure on the judiciary, stressing that the Act has been used to conduct 105 elections in the country without anybody challenging the result but for the situation in Osun State.
He said that a foremost Nigerian Queen’s Counsel flew into Nigeria to vote during the election but was amazed at the way politicians conducted themselves in the most shameful manner.
“How can a politician say that he will do what he likes and who doesn’t like it should go to court”, he argued, stressing that the situation is such because politicians no longer fear the judiciary as you have it in other climes.
He went into history citing instances that the United States and the United Kingdom where kings of rigging, vote buying and the other vices associated with election.
He said it was such that in the UK, the judiciary was excluded from election matters because they felt that if politicians can buy votes, nothing stops them from also buying the judiciary in what is seen as state capture of the judiciary.
He said things continued like that until the 1883 Act which prescribed life ban for politicians who rig elections in England. He said if he has opportunity of coming back to life, he would still prefer to come back as a lawyer but this time to sit on the bench and wait for politicians who will pervert the law and seek to legalise their actions through the judiciary.
Mike Igini said that what has happened in Nigeria is to put the judiciary in trouble, adding that a lot of case files are not left unattended since some of the judges have been nominated to sit in ongoing election tribunals across the country.
The way forward? He is advocating life ban for politicians who rigg elections in addition to concluding election petitions before an executive is sworn in as recommended by the Justice Uwaise Panel. He said that has been the case across Africa and that Nigerians remains the only country where an executive is sworn in when the matter is yet to be concluded.
He said that the problem facing Nigeria remains leadership, if gotten right, he said every other thing will fall into place and that Nigeria will accelerate in terms of rapid development and economic advancement.
