Judiciary has undermined Democracy in the South East -CSOs

By Jude Opara, Abuja

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the South East have accused the judiciary of playing ignoble role in the lack of progress in the region since the return of democratic governance, especially since 2019.
The CSOs made the accusation at a one-day symposium on Wednesday in Umuahia, Abia State to mark the 10th anniversary of South East Democracy Clinic, a platform geared to help deepen civil rule and ensure that the dividends of democracy get to people of the geopolitical zone.
The group alleged that the judiciary has been hobnobbing with some “vagabonds of power” in the zone who they accused of brazenly stealing the mandate of the people and mock them with the usual refrain ‘Go to Court’, confident that their ‘loot’ is secure.
According to the group, it was only the 2023 governorship election in Abia and the off-season governorship election in Anambra state in 2022 that had a semblance of electoral credibility, and which outcomes represented the will of the people of the two states, stating categorically that judiciary has not been fair in delivering justice to the people of Imo in the recent off season poll, as well as Enugu and Ebonyi states in the 2023 election.
Zeroing on Imo, Dr Emeka Ononamadu, founder of Southeast Democracy Clinic and former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu state queried what the Imo State Electoral Tribunal meant when it ruled in its recent judgement that the poll was in substantial compliance with enabling statutes despite the fact that issues of widespread violence, thuggery, intimidation of voters, vote buying, manipulation of results and the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), snatching and or destruction of ballot boxes were glaring.
Ononamadu, a lawyer insists: “Widespread violence and intimidation, electoral malpractice: incidents of ballot box snatching, vote-buying, and manipulation of results. These practices undermined the integrity of the election process. Also logistical problems like delays in the delivery of electoral materials and issues with the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) led to significant disruptions and confusion at many polling stations.
“There was low voter turnout due to fears of violence and amidst these and other plethora of complaints reported by election observers the tribunal still ruled that the poll was in substantial compliance with enabling laws”, Ononamadu argued.
Also speaking at the symposium with the theme: Post Election Judgement and Conflicting CSOs Observation Report: An Indictment on CSOs or Judicial Intervention; Dr. Chris Nwadigo, Executive Director, Peoples Rights Organization, noted that there is no law prohibiting the admission of report of election observers in evidence in court. He also wondered why the nation’s courts have failed to leverage on reports of election observers to dispense justice.
He insisted that Nigeria should join other nations in the world who he said use such reports as grounds for judicial intervention in election disputes.
In a communique drawn at the end of the symposium and made available to newsmen, the participants called on the judiciary to use electoral justice to save Nigeria democracy, starting with the outstanding post-election case in Imo State.