Mike Ozekhome (SAN), one of the counsel to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 election, has said he believes the short ruling of the Supreme Court dismissing his client’s appeal without reason was to douse tension gripping the nation.
Recall that a seven-member panel of Supreme Court Justices unanimously gave the decision but announced that the reason for the dismissal would be announced later. https://dailypost.ng/2019/10/30/breaking-supreme-court-dismisses-atikus-petition-against-buharis-election/
Speaking to reporters after the apex court’s judgement, Ozekhome said: “I think the strategy for the short judgement without reasons is to prevent unnecessary tension gripping the country once more like during elections.
“At least today, the baby has been delivered, not aborted even if the baby is malformed.
“It is not the issue but the thing is the baby has been delivered but what manner of baby it is, what ingredients make up the being of the baby, we do not know yet?
“Those are the reasons the apex court said they will tell Nigerians and the world for dismissing this appeal as lacking in merit, we cannot say more than this because we have not heard the reasons.
“As far as the Justices are concerned, they have done the best they could under the strangulating regime of electoral jurisprudence.
“With the Supreme Court saying that the timeline provided in the Constitution is like the rock of Gibraltar, that cannot be moved, so you are being beaten, your hands are tied to the back and you are not even allowed to cry.
“Something drastic has to be done about our electoral laws and the electoral jurisprudence, so as to cleanse the stable and make people believe that when they vote, their votes would not only be counted but that such votes must also count.”
