The elections have come and gone. INEC declared Mr Bola Tinubu as president-elect to the widespread discontent of many who voted. As a result, all the major opposition parties are challenging the validity of the election results in court.  They are questioning the legitimacy of the process and the accuracy of the results as announced by INEC.

It is common knowledge that elections in Nigeria are usually not free and fair. Neither is the process often transparent. Our elections have always been highly susceptible to manipulations by those in power.  Hence, the notion of challenging the election results in courts is common and in fact necessary. In this regard, the judiciary has an overriding responsibility to help improve our electoral system by insisting on the due electoral process in the conduct of elections. This will hopefully over time discourage bad actors and corrupt politicians from deliberately undermining the process. Many Nigerians are once again desperately looking up to the courts and hoping for justice.

However, there are doubts and scepticism on whether the judiciary will live up to the expectations of Nigerians. There are growing strident voices who are alarmed at the level of corruption that has infected the courts especially, the Bench.    The unhealthy situation calls for sober reflections from all well-meaning Nigerians. It may be necessary to interrogate our confidence in the law courts at this point in time especially with respect to the election petitions before them.  Accordingly, it is apt to ask the question – Is our hope in the courts misplaced?

What is the feasibility of securing justice from election tribunal especially with respect to the current petitions against the declaration of Mr Bola Tinubu as the winner of Nigerian presidential election by INEC?

Some of the grounds on which the petitions are based include the following allegations;

• That Mr Bola Tinubu was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election;
• That the election of Mr Bola Tinubu was invalid by reasons of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022;
• That Mr Bola Tinubu was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

The election petition litigants are hoping that the courts declared them the winner of the election or cancellation of the election or ordering a fresh rerun of the election without the participation of Mr Bola Tinubu and his running mate. They are hoping that the courts grant them relief and justice by setting aside the results of the presidential election as announced by INEC.

Justice is necessary for maintaining a functioning democracy. Without justice, people may feel that their voices are not being heard. That their rights are not being protected and that they are not being represented fairly in the political process. This can lead to disenfranchisement, apathy, and a lack of faith in the democratic system.  Thus, election tribunals play a critical role in ensuring that justice is served.  To ensure this, tribunals must be independent, fast, and efficient. Parties must present credible evidence to support their claims and judgements judiciously enforced.

But, the reality in Nigeria is remarkably different. Many Nigerians have already lost faith in the democratic system. There is already widespread apathy such that Nigerians rarely border to insist on the rights. Will continue to emphasise the lack of respect for citizenship rights in Nigeria.  We live in a country that neither demands justice nor insists on it.

I do not expect justice from the courts. While my heart is hopeful, my head tell us otherwise. It is evident that we do not have a judicial system that is designed and managed to deliver justice to ordinary fellows, to everyday Nigerians.  If we look deeper, we will realise that we do not have laws and a constitution that is designed to deliver justice to the people. Many of our laws have been crafted in ways that have limited their application and effectiveness.  On issues after issues, we see many gaping holes and glaring omissions in our Constitution.  These inherent limitations have no doubt fuelled deep discontentment with many clamouring for complete overhaul and restructure.  Unfortunately, the judiciary often takes advantage of these limitations to compromise justice in the courts.  However, beyond the problem of constitutional limitations, there is little in the history of the judiciary system that inspires confidence in the court as the last hope of the common man.

To those of us out there that are resting our hopes on the law courts, what are we hinging our hopes on? It is often said that ‘justice delayed is justice denied.’ However, we live in a country where justice is routinely delayed. We live in a country where justice is routinely denied.  For instance, many do not understand how Mr. Bola Tinubu is preparing to be sworn in as president in the next few weeks. While the cases against his election are yet to be heard in the court. The election tribunal is yet to hear opening statements in any of the cases against him. In other words, the courts be hearing an election petition after the person whose election is being challenged is sworn in as president. Of course, by then, the President will start enjoying absolute immunity – and beyond the reach of the law. Nigeria never ceases to amaze even the most cynical of us.

They say that ‘justice must not only be done but must always be seen as done.’ Everyday Nigerians know that it is difficult to get justice in law courts. These are courts where legal technicalities provide a haven for bad judgements. The supreme court of the land is increasingly delivering bizarre, head scratching judgements that do not make sense to people. We live in a country where people know that justice from the courts is clearly beyond their reach.  On what are we hinging our hopes?

I see a lot of similarities between the Nigerian judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). For instance, it was obvious to a lot of people that INEC would likely bungle the General election exercise because they have consistently done so in the past. INEC has always buckled under the pressure of the establishment and corrupt politicians. They had never shown to have the capacity to conduct a free and fair election or to act as a neutral arbiter in its conduct. The ‘independent’ attach to the name of INEC is merely an appendage that means little. INEC is in reality not independent and has not shown in his conduct to be independent. Yet, before the election some of us hoped. Some of us held out the forlorn hope that this time around, it could be different with INEC. With the new electoral reform act of 2022, surely things will be different this time around. While our hearts hoped, our heads knew better.

We are currently in a similar situation with the Nigerian judiciary. It seems obvious that the court will likely bungle the election petitions before them because they have consistently done so in the past. They have always buckled under the pressure of the establishment and corrupt politicians? They have not demonstrated to be an independent branch of government? The Nigerian judiciary is yet to convince Nigerians that they are the true arbiter of justice – the last hope of the Common man in the land. Yet some of us are holding out the forlorn hope that this time around it will be different. Surely, it will be different this time around, given the thousands of available documented-evidence, videos, photographs, documents, etc.  The heart will always hope. And so, many Nigerian hearts are desperately hopeful – that is where we are at the moment.  Our hearts collectively yawn for justice.

In all this, it is important to emphasise that justice should not be a black box or Rubik’s cube puzzle. Justice is not a secret code that you needed a deciphering machine to decode. Justice is simply truth in action. We the people intimately know the face of justice when we see it. There is something innate in us that knows how justice looks, feels, smells and tastes. We recognise it like an old friend.   The election tribunal is been asked to affirm what most Nigerians saw and experienced on the day of the election. What the election observers (local and international) have all recorded and reported.  The judiciary is been called to tell the truth, to affirmed the truth of what we all witnessed on the 25th of February. It is that simple.

As Williams Scott Downey would say “Law without justice is an open wound without a cure.” So, we are compelled to asked – will the Nigerian judiciary start treating the gaping open wounds of Nigeria or continue to let it rot and fester to our collective detriment? It is the desire of many Nigerians that our judiciary should defer towards justice and help build a better country.

In conclusion, it will definitely be helpful to start looking beyond the eventual judgements of election tribunals and the Supreme Court on these petitions before them. If we neither demands for justice nor insists on getting it from our institutions, how can we get justice from our law courts? We must begin to learn how to demand for justice and how to insist on it in Nigeria. That is the way to guarantee the proper functioning of our institutions including the law courts. It is only then that our hopes and faith in the courts of land will not be misplaced.

Written by

Dr Okey Ndubueze