Posted by The comment made by retired Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili regarding the impending ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Court has drawn criticism from the Labour Party, who characterized it as a preemptive proclamation.
Obiora Ifoh, the party’s national publicity secretary, voiced the party’s worries in a statement in Abuja, highlighting the need to call attention to the development before the PEPC decision scheduled for Wednesday.
Ifoh stated, “The unguarded remarks made by Justice Mary Odili, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, last week in Abuja at a colloquium to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the promotion of renowned lawyer JK Gadzama to the status of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.
“And our party is shocked by the bragging of several people, including serving ministers and important parliamentarians, over the outcome.
“We as a party view this as regrettable and hazardous to our democratic path as a country when those who ought to understand the significance of the sanctity of the judiciary descend to the arena of abusing it with their pre-emptive comments only to show allegiance and support to their interests.
“We also take note of the retired Justice’s unwarranted profuse praise of the legal counsels for the APC and Bola Ahmed Tinubu although the gathering was not theirs.
“We find this incredibly dishonorable of a renowned jurist who reached the pinnacle of her career in the nation’s Apex court and who, as Chairperson of the body of benchers, should be at the forefront of defending the morality of the courts,” they write.
“What exactly happened that the live coverage, which they claimed was a policy issue at the delivery point, changed suddenly between the hearing period and the delivery of the judgment?”
“We are aware of the efforts of the agents of the States to orchestrate issues and attribute them to the political opposition,” the spokesperson for the party continued.
We want to emphasize that in democracies, people have the right to demonstrate, and that state security personnel have a responsibility to both protect those who are protesting and those who are not.
“We appeal upon Nigerians to maintain composure and peace, uphold the law, and recognize that this issue has not come to a logical and definitive conclusion.
“As a key player in Nigeria’s project, especially the democratic evolution, our concern is that Nigeria as a country, not necessarily an individual, is being destroyed by all these cunning by-the-half plays on people’s wits.
“Anyone who loves this country should understand the value of the rule of law and due process because, without it, this country is doomed to fail.”