Mr Igini spoke against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s decisions declaring the Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the authentic candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe North Senatorial District for the 25 February general election.
A former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa
Ibom State, Mike Igini, has described two recent judgements of the Supreme Court as a “tragedy.”
Mr Igini, a lawyer, spoke against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s decisions declaring the Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the authentic candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe North Senatorial District for the 25 February general election.
Similarly, the Supreme Court declared a former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, as senatorial candidate for the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District for the poll.
Messrs Lawan and Akpabio had both unsuccessfully vied for the APC presidential ticket on 8 June, 2022.
The duo were hurriedly, under controversial circumstances, nominated by their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the senatorial candidates for their districts.
But featuring in an interview on Arise TV prime-time programme ‘The Morning Show’, on Wednesday, Mr Igini lamented that the Supreme Court by the two recent verdicts was shirking its responsibility as “the last line of defence of democracy and the rule of law.”
Giving a historical context to the judiciary’s role in Nigeria’s democracy, he said the courts have “not actually lived up to expectation,” citing the controversial judgements of the Supreme Court in affirming the election of late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007.
Mr Yar’Adua had shortly after taking office, admitted that the election that brought him to power was flawed, calling for far-reaching reforms, which birthed the Justice Lawal Uwais electoral panel report.
Faulting the Supreme Court judgements, Mr Igini said a pre-election case does not require oral evidence in terms of calling of witnesses.
In a split decision of the Supreme Court on Monday, Centus Nweze, held that Mr Lawan’s challenger in the suit, Bashir Machina, ought to have commenced his case at the Federal High Court in Damaturu, Yobe State, with a Writ of Summons.
“Where there is an allegation of fraud it (the suit) should not be commenced by an originating summons.
“There was a need to call witnesses to prove allegations of fraud,” Mr Nweze said while delivering the majority judgement on the APC’s appeal against Mr Machina’s victory.
