Says election matters are akin to turning a cone upside down
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed concern over judgements on political cases by some courts in the country, saying the situation does not give a good sign for democracy.
Jonathan, who stated this at the 67th birthday celebration of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, in Abuja, described some judgements on election matters as a cone being turned upside down.
According to him, The way things are going in this country, especially listening to the judgments being given regarding political cases, we are beginning to see that democracy in Nigeria is like a cone that is being turned upside down.
And if a cone is turned upside down it cannot be stable and at the slightest perturbation, it will fall. When I listened to some senior lawyers like Olisa Agbakoba making comments on some Supreme Courts judgments, I felt very sad that the country has got to that level.
He noted that for democracy to endure in the country, people both at the Bar and the Bench should not be carried away by political influence.
If our democracy will endure, people, both at the Bar and the Bench, should not be carried away by political influence. That is the only way we can stabilise the political process.
I know the lawyers enjoy it because after elections there is always an avalanche of litigation, because it is like Christmas for lawyers. But in most other countries, people dont go to court; but in Nigeria, pre-election matters and post-election matters fill all the courts and it does not give a good sign for democracy”, he said.
He said a particular court verdict has been haunting him since it was delivered because the judgement turned the cone upside down.
He added that if the courts failed to review the case, it could create instability in Nigerias political system.
