Court Rulings: 3 Judges deciding fate of millions of Nigerians not acceptable – Obasanjo
Only last week, three governors were fired in different decisions issued by the Court of Appeal.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has slammed the Court of Appeal’s decision to remove elected state governors, claiming that three to five judges should not overrule decisions made by millions of people during an election.
Obasanjo, speaking in response to the Court’s continuing procedures and decisions on different electoral challenges coming from the country’s 2023 elections, called the powers vested in the hands of a few judges as “totally unacceptable.”
Only last week, three governors were fired in different decisions issued by the Court of Appeal.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s reaction came as governors Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State were recently ousted by the Appeal Court amid disputes and criticism from Nigerians, particularly from opposition political groups.
Obasanjo criticized the judges’ “cathedral pronouncements” during a high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa held at Green Resort Legacy, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
According to Daily Trust, he said,
“I believe whatever form of democracy we have or whatever system of government we have, three or four men in the judiciary should not be able to overturn the decisions of millions that have voted. Now, we have to find a way to handle that.
“I don’t know what the way will be but, for me, I think it’s totally unacceptable that millions (of votes), maybe 10million on one side, maybe 9million on the other side. Then, you have five people sitting down, three of them agree, two disagree.
“And you come up and make cathedral pronouncements that cannot be changed. I believe that should not be accepted.
“How do we do it? I don’t know. But whatever form of democracy we have, we should look at how to handle this. If you say ‘go again for election,’ then, what happened to the previous election? I don’t know.
“So, I personally feel strongly about. It does not matter what you say about the judiciary, but in fact only five people or seven will sit down. If they are five, three may agree, two may not agree, and the decision of three will be final. All that you have done comes to the decision of three or decision of four.”