Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has called for a reduction in the role of the judiciary in Nigeria’s electoral process, arguing that courts should not determine the winners of elections.
Falana made the statement while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he expressed concern about the judiciary’s preparedness to handle disputes that could arise from future elections.
The activist lawyer said the country must end the practice of relying on courts to determine electoral winners, arguing that doing so could undermine the choices made by voters.
“There is no indication yet that the Nigerian judiciary is positioned to address some of the challenges that may emanate with respect to some of the elections likely to take place in January and February next year,” Falana said.
“For me, the first matter to address is the role of the judiciary in the electoral process in Nigeria. We must stop the practice whereby the court determine the winners of the election in Nigeria.”
He argued that courts should not rely on technicalities to overturn or undermine the choices of voters who have freely elected their representatives.
Using the recent Osun State governorship election as an example, Falana said the outcome should be accepted if the election reflected the will of the people, rather than becoming the subject of prolonged litigation.
“We just had an election in Osun State. Forget all the shortcomings; at the end of the day, the beauty of it will be that the governorship election will not go to court because the people have decided, they have elected their leader,” he said.
Falana said reducing the number of electoral disputes reaching tribunals and courts would depend largely on the conduct of credible elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders.
He urged INEC and those involved in the electoral process to prevent irregularities and ensure that genuine results were declared.
“For me, the role of the judiciary must have to be extremely limited in the democratic process in our country,” he said.
He added that the media and other Nigerians also had a role to play in ensuring that elections were properly conducted and that false results were not announced.
According to Falana, credible elections would reduce the grounds for electoral disputes and limit the need for intervention by tribunals, regular courts and appellate courts.
