Presidential Election: Atiku, Tinubu trade words over alleged plot to undermine judiciary

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and President Bola Tinubu are locked in a war of words over an alleged plot to manipulate the ongoing electoral dispute at the Presidential Election Petition Court, Abuja.

Atiku, a former vice president, in a statement on Saturday in Abuja by his media office, alleged that there are threats from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Tinubu’s party, that aim to intimidate the judiciary from ensuring justice in the ongoing presidential electoral dispute.

But Mr Tinubu and the APC have dismissed the allegations.

Dispute in Court

Atiku, who came second in the 25 February presidential election, is urging the Presidential Election Petition Court to overturn Mr Tinubu’s victory on account of alleged electoral fraud.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in their separated suits, are also asking the five-member panel of the court headed by Haruna Tsammani, to nullify the president’s victory at the polls.

They are accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating the entire electoral process in favour of Mr Tinubu.

The petitioners also argued during the court’s hearing that Mr Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were not eligible to vie for the presidency owing to allegations of criminal forfeiture and double nomination against the duo.

However, Messrs Tinubu, Shettima, the APC and INEC, in their defence before the court, contended that there was substantial compliance with the electoral laws in the conduct of the 25 February presidential election.

They urged the court to dismiss the suits against Mr Tinubu.

‘Sinister plot to undermine Nigeria’s judiciary, democracy’

But in a fresh reaction to the court’s proceedings, Atiku said there is a plot to compromise the judiciary’s independence.

In the statement signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, the PDP candidate described the last general election as the “the worst in the annals of democratic politics in our country,” a position Mr Tinubu has refuted.

Atiku who was Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007, said INEC’s “arbitrariness” in declaring Mr Tinubu as winner of the election despite not fulfilling the statutory requirements was why he is challenging the outcome.

“But as proceedings on the controversial February 25 election continue at the court, there have been threats from the ruling party that aim to intimidate the judiciary from serving the duty of justice,” the statement said.

He alleged that the APC and Mr Tinubu’s “agents” “have ceaselessly chosen to stand in the way of justice by making catastrophic threats to anarchy if justice is not served according to their whims.”

Last Wednesday, there were social media reports that Mr Tinubu allegedly had a secret telephone conversation with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, concerning the pending suits against the president.

The reports also alleged that Mr Ariwoola had a clandestine phone conversation with the Director General of Nigeria’s spy agency, the State Security Service (SSS), Yusuf Bichi, with a view to asking the presidential election court to give its judgement in favour of Mr Tinubu.

However, the APC and the Supreme Court management denied the allegations, saying there was “no iota of truth” in the claims.

Atiku cautioned that “Nigeria’s democracy should not be undermined by using the judiciary to serve the interest of the ruling party.”

Referencing the social media reports about Messrs Tinubu and Ariwoola’s alleged phone call, Atiku said, “…reports in the media about some heinous plots to harass justices sitting on the petition are ominous to peace and the security of our nation.”

“To compromise the workings of our democracy and seeking to compromise the workings of our judiciary is an open call for anarchy.”

The former vice president expressed his desire to abide by the law “in resisting any attempt to undermine our fragile democracy.”

Drawing the attention of the international community to the allegations, Atiku recalled how a former CJN, Walter Onnoghen, was unlawfully removed from office in 2019 “when it was obvious that he would not bend to their will.”

In 2019, former President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected but Atiku challenged the result of the election, which was later upheld by both the presidential election petition and Supreme Court.

Atiku further recalled how armed SSS operatives invaded official residences of judges in 2016 and 2017 “all in a bid to beat the judiciary into submission.”

He lamented that the ruling APC government had earned notoriety in arm-twisting the judiciary.

“The plot of the APC is simple: intimidate the judiciary, threaten judges with arrest so that they will bow to their will. This is a playbook from 2019 when they removed the CJN and then replaced him with Tanko Muhammad, who himself was later accused of corruption by his colleagues at the Supreme Court and resigned shamefully.”

Atiku’s claims laughable – Tinubu

Reacting to the allegations, Mr Tinubu’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, described Atiku’s statement as “laughable.”

Mr Alake said Atiku had “not fully recovered from the shock of defeat, hence the current attempt to mischievously rake up another round of inanities that offend basic logic and rational thinking.”

He said the former vice president failed to provide any evidence to support his claims.

Mr Alake said Atiku “shamelessly resorted to this cheap attempt to intimidate and blackmail the Judiciary even when he is party to a case before the Presidential Election Tribunal.”

Recalling Mr Tinubu’s contributions to the entrenchment of democracy, Mr Alake said the president “was leading the charge against the emasculation of the judiciary and promoting the sanctity of rule of law as the building block for good governance as Governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007, under a PDP central government, Alhaji Atiku was nowhere to be found.”

He added that “no leader with such a sterling and enviable credential as a champion of rule of law, independence of judiciary like President Tinubu will ever contemplate undermining the Judiciary as alleged by Alhaji Atiku.”

According to Mr Alake, Mr Tinubu won the February presidential election in a “free and fair” manner, saying it was the “most transparent election ever conducted in Nigeria since 1999.”

Allegation lacking in substance – APC

Similarly, the APC described Atiku’s statement as “arrant nonsense” and “lacking in substance.”

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Mr Tinubu won the election convincingly and it has full faith and confidence in the nation’s courts.

“Our attention has been drawn to a Press Statement by a media aide to Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The statement alleges that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its government are engaged in a plot to intimidate members of the judiciary towards unduly influencing the outcome of pending cases before the court. Atiku Abubakar and his minions offered no evidence to support their wild, hollow, and mischievous allegations.

“Quite frankly, there is nothing in Atiku Abubakar’s statement that is worth a reaction from the APC. It is just arrant nonsense, totally lacking in substance and cogency. Its only imaginable purpose is a childish attempt to float an alibi to deflect the shame of a highly probable defeat in court, having miserably failed to make out a credible case to justify his bogus claim that he won the last Presidential Election.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and our Party won the election convincingly. We have full faith and confidence in our courts to dispense electoral justice in accordance with our Constitution and all applicable laws,” Mr Morka said.

Read Atiku’s full statement below:

PRESS RELEASE

There’s a sinister plot to undermine Nigeria’s judiciary, democracy – Atiku

*Calls on Nigerians to be vigilant, puts international community on alert

Since the conclusion of the presidential election in February of this year and the attendant controversies in its trail, there have been unfortunate developments that are saddening to many Nigerians.

It is needless to say that the election that brought the current government into office is the worst in the annals of democratic politics in our country, even though it was promised to be the best ever.

Consequently, the outcome of that election and the arbitrariness of the electoral umpire to declare a winner against the requirement of the law has been the reason Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and other parties in the election have chosen the patriotic path to challenge the outcome of that election.

It is a truism that the judiciary is the only reasonable option in the quest for justice. As a matter of fact, our judiciary and the interpretations that they have given to our laws have been a major building block in our democratic journey so far.

Our laws are very clear about the prerequisite of separation of powers as a guarantee of an independent judiciary.

The idea behind that concept of an independent judiciary is to insulate that branch of government from unholy fraternity between its hallowed members and the rest of the society – especially the political actors.

But as proceedings on the controversial February 25 election continues at the court, there have been threats from the ruling party that aim to intimidate the judiciary from serving the duty of justice.

It is regrettable that the APC and, indeed, agents of President Bola Tinubu have ceaselessly chosen to stand in the way of justice by making catastrophic threats to anarchy if justice is not served according to their whims.

These and reports in the media about some heinous plots to harass justices sitting on the petition are ominous to peace and the security of our nation.

Our democracy gives the people of Nigeria the powers to choose their leaders, and our laws demand that our judiciary must be allowed to act independently without harassment and intimidation by the government or powerful interests.

To compromise the workings of our democracy and seeking to compromise the workings of our judiciary is an open call for anarchy.

As a party in the litigation that is currently reviewing the outcome of the last presidential election, we wish to express our intentions to do all that is within the law in resisting any attempt to undermine our fragile democracy.

Indeed, we are using this channel to call on the international community to be alerted.

Nigeria’s democracy should not be undermined by using the judiciary to serve the interest of the ruling party.

Sadly, this has become the stock in trade of the All Progressives Congress to intimidate the judiciary.

Recall that in 2019, the APC-led Federal Government similarly removed the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, when it was obvious that he would not bend to their will.

The Department of State Services similarly stormed the homes of judges in 2016 and 2017, all in a bid to beat the judiciary into submission.

“The plot of the APC is simple: intimidate the judiciary, threaten judges with arrest so that they will bow to their will. This is a playbook from 2019 when they removed the CJN and then replaced him with Tanko Muhammad, who himself was later accused of corruption by his colleagues at the Supreme Court and resigned shamefully.

“However, the APC government never went after Tanko Muhammad as they did in Onnoghen’s case because it was never about corruption but election. The APC has, over the years, built a reputation of judiciary intimidation. They accused about 10 judges of corruption, stormed their homes, and got them suspended and yet could not convict a single one of them. Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court could not recover from the embarrassment that he ended up dying in office.

“Now, they have initiated a new plot. This time around, they want to intimidate the judges into delivering favourable judgments for them at the election tribunal. We draw the attention of the international community and, indeed, Nigerians to this fresh plot to steal the mandate of over 200 million people.”

We are also urging Nigerians to abide by the golden rule of eternal vigilance being the price of liberty.

On this note, we appeal to all security agencies in the country to remain professional in the discharge of their duties and resist being used as an instrument of oppression and intimidation against the judiciary.

Signed:
Paul Ibe
Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar
Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election.
Abuja
22nd July, 2023