ALL EYES ON THE JUDICIARY: IT’S IMPORTANT CITIZENS SHOW INTEREST IN JUDICIARY ACTIVITIES-TMG

All eyes on the judiciary’ Mantra:
It’s important for citizens to show keen interest on the judiciary’ -TMG

It is becoming very clear by the day that Nigerians had not lost interest on the last general elections and all that played out in the exercise. Indeed, they should not and ought not! That was a particular election that Nigerians of all ages and classes, especially the youth, saw as one that would change many narratives in the country.

That pain on the citizens has not ebbed. They have thus, been looking up to the courts to make a final say on the election, make definite pronouncement on its conduct and who actually won. In #AllEyesOnTheElectionTribunalJudges, they expressed their belief in the judiciary as the last hope for their efforts. It was for them, a reminder that all was not lost after all; that the errors of the presidential and other elections could still be remedied.

No wonder the TMG raises alarm over plots by politicians to undermine the 2023 election tribunal cases by destroying billboards carrying the ‘All eyes on the judiciary’ adverts, dissolving the board in charge of approval of the adverts.

TMG raised the alarm accusing politicians of plotting to undermine election tribunal cases
The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) said that some unscrupulous elements, especially politicians and lawyers are pressurizing the judiciary into averting justice through fair hearings and judgements at election petition tribunals across the country.

In a statement made available to RPTVBLOG and signed by its chairman, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani the group condemned how the federal government moved to silence “All eyes on the judiciary,” campaigners who erected billboards with the inscription boldly carved on them across the major cities, including the FCT.

He stated that everyone should have keen interest in the activities of the judiciary to ensure that the critical arm of government is not arm-twisted.

Continuing l, the statement reads: “It is even more disheartening to see that at a time when democracy has become more threatened in the West African subregion largely as a result of corrupt actions of some politicians, the need to thread even more carefully to ensure the judicial processes to addressing petitions from the 2023 election are seen to be fair has been disregarded.

“The revelation on political efforts to subvert justice through bribery to justices and staff of courts as revealed by the Chairperson of the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal is of great worry to every concerned citizen of Nigeria. While the action of the Kano State election petition chairperson in coming out to speak out must be commended, one cannot hold back from imagining the amount of corruption that would have already trailed the tribunals across the country.

“TMG and many other civil society organisations consider the attempt to pervert justice at the election tribunals through corruption as an onslaught on the judiciary. If allowed to persist, it would further erode citizens’ trust in the judicial system to deliver justice. It is therefore important to protect the judiciary from politics and corrupt politicians.

“At this point in time, when the outcome of the 2023 election has resulted to unprecedented number of cases before the courts, the judiciary has inevitable been positioned as the last bearer of the light of rule of law and has been left with the task of deepening democracy in Nigeria through fair hearings and impartial judgements. While it is important for investigative journalism and civic activism to rise up to protect the judiciary from the corrupt actions of politicians, it is also crucial for the judiciary to protect itself as an independent arm of government by deploying every available legal provision within it means to ensure it is not allowed to be ridiculed by the politicians.

“While Nigeria, through its chairmanship of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) has taken upon itself the saddle of restoring democracy to the Republic of Niger, it must be pointed out that charity begins at home. If the Nigerian state cannot ensure free, fair, and credible elections that would have reduced the current burden on the judiciary, if the Nigerian government would close its eyes and turn a deaf ear to revelations of bribery to judges to pervert justice at the election tribunals, then there are no moral grounds to leading efforts to restore democracy anywhere in the world.

“It is clear to see the yearnings of Nigerians for democracy to be deepened in the country as manifested in the 2023 elections. While there is the general perception that the election fell far off citizens’ expectations for credibility, believe has been shifted to the judiciary to deliver justice. With the current revelations, it can be seen that there are ongoing attempts to further deny citizens the right to justice. These are situations that can lead to citizens viewing those in authority as illegitimate and breed anarchy. It is therefore imperative for all those who love Nigeria to play their role in ensuring democracy is not derailed in Nigeria as a result of actions of greedy and corrupt politicians who will stop at nothing for personal aggrandisement.

“As have been observed especially in the Federal Capital Territory where citizens have emphasized their resort to the judiciary as the last hope for justice by championing campaigns with keen interest on judicial activities around the election tribunals using the #AllEyesontheJudiciary hashtags and erecting billboards across the city, the actions of the federal government to pull down those billboards remain condemnable. TMG views the action of the government as dictatorial and a clear clamp down on peaceful, harmless protest by citizens and these actions are not tenable in a democracy.

As a matter of fact, it is important for everyone to always have a keen interest in the activities of the judiciary as we must ensure the critical arm of government is not arm-twisted in delivering political justice in Nigeria. Why should anyone be afraid of citizens interest in the activities of any arm of government? Who is afraid of #AllEyesOnTheJudiciary?”