Judiciary shouldn’t determine winners of elections – Falana

Human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has said that the judiciary should not determine the winners of elections.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television Politics Today, on the Supreme Court judgement, Falana said that Nigeria has a long way to go with regard to how credible elections should be conducted.

According to him, it should not take anything to conduct a good election if the political class are honest to conduct transparent elections.

He said, “No doubt the judgment of the Supreme Court has ended the electoral contestation as far as the presidential election conducted in February this year is concerned.

“But for sure, it is not a judicial endorsement of the conduct of the election by INEC.

“And what I mean is that even with the judgment, it is very clear that Nigeria has a long way to go in terms of ensuring that credible elections are conducted; elections that will be devoid of acrimony, elections that all of us will be proud of.

“But we are still a long way from there even with the judgment.

“Yes for now the presidential election is concluded. It should have been concluded in February, but it has just been concluded by the Supreme Court and it should not be so.

“The judiciary should not determine the winners of elections.

“Judges are not suited to determine the winners of election; that is a job that is the exclusive reserve of INEC if things are done properly and that is why we must put an end to the shame that has become our law in terms of conducting elections,” he said.

On Thursday, October 26, the apex court after several months of waiting upheld the Tribunal's verdict declaring President Tinubu as the winner.

A seven-judge panel led by Justice John Okoro dismissed the appeals by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; and the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.