Winners of election should not be determined by the judiciary, says Femi Falana

Human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has said that it is not ideal for the judiciary to decide winners of elections.

Falana stated this in an interview with Channels TV’s Politics Today.

According to him, determining winners of elections is an exclusive reserve of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

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.

Falana noted that Nigeria must realise its status as the largest concentration of black people on earth, adding that the country has a greater responsibility to do the right thing for black people to earn respect all over the world.

The activist said it doesn’t take much to conduct a good election if the political class are honest to conduct transparent elections.

Recall the Supreme Court, in its ruling on Thursday, upheld the election of President Bola Tinubu and dismissed the appeals by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi.

A seven-judge panel led by Justice John Okoro ruled that the opposition appeals over claims of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s ineligibility to run for President lack merit.