Group Reveals How Supreme Court Justices Are Being Harassed Ahead Of Osun Governorship Decision
A civil society group, Civil Liberty Union, has raised alarm over alleged harassment and threats against some members of the Supreme Court panel of justices presiding over the Osun governorship appeal by some politicians.
The group fingered a prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) member and three governors on the platform of the ruling party as those behind the plot.
They accused the politicians of using President Muhammadu Buhari’s name to intimidate the justices to jettison the supremacy of the constitution and find any way to give a favorable judgment to Osun state governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, June 26 and signed by its coordinator, Mallam Shuaibu Adamu, the union alleged that the governors who had arrived a day earlier for meetings, spent the night meeting select justices who have resisted financial inducements and insisted on following the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution in line with the oath they swore to when they became justices of the Supreme Court.
Part of the statement read: “We are aware of an evil plot to truncate justice in the case of Osun state governorship appeal before the Supreme Court.
“We want the president to know and act quickly before further damage and utter destruction is done to the judiciary.
“We urge the justices to remain steadfast. The whole world knows what happened in Osun was a ra*e of democracy and an affront to the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. The UK, US, and EU all condemned the election especially the established voter harassment and disenfranchisement that characterized it.
“We affirm to the justices that ruling on facts and supremacy of the constitution is the right and conscionable path of honor and posterity will judge them as bold and courageous standing for equity and justice.
“We are interested in this matter because it is a stain on the nation’s democratic credential. We need to clean it up by allowing the truth and the constitution to prevail.Mr. President also agreed to this line of thought and that was why he has directed the Supreme Court to follow the law and their convictions.
“We plan to present a protest letter to the presidency and the Chief Justice of Nigeria on this matter.”
Meanwhile, a recent media report revealed that several Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials during the 2019 presidential election claimed that they transmitted results electronically to a ‘central server’ through smart card readers.
The electronic transmission of the results was said to have been done in compliance with the directive given by the commission during a three-day training before the polls.
According to the report, the officials who were reported to have worked as presiding officers claimed they were told that there was a central server in Abuja.
INEC had earlier claimed there was no server for the elections.
