By Omonu YG Nelson
The Thursdays decision by the Supreme Court of Nigeria has continued to genrate outrage among some Nigerians, particularly JS Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and counsel to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the Kogi governorship election. The court’s decision legitimized the electoral process that produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as governor of Kogi State, despite allegations of fraud and manipulation.
Okutepa expressed disappointment and outrage on his Facebook page, stating that the court’s decision overlooked the facts of the electoral fraud and manipulation. He alleged that the witness who demonstrated the BVAS machines in court did not frontload witness statements on oath, despite being ordered to do so by the court.
“The facts of the fraudulent election that produced the Kogi State Governor were completely overlooked by the court because the witness that produced the BVAS machines demonstrated in open court… did not frontload witness statements on oath and filed along with the petition,” Okutepa said.
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He criticized the court’s decision, saying it gave judicial legitimacy to an otherwise fraudulent electoral process. “The essence of democracy is legitimacy derived from the sovereignty of people and not one man show as we see in the Nigerian brand of democracy that always get stamps of legitimacy from the institutions that have duties and responsibilities to checkmate illegitimate electoral processes,” Okutepa said.
Okutepa also condemned the attack on the SDP candidate by political hoodlums and hooligans within the Supreme Court premises. He criticized the response of the Kogi State government, particularly the spokesperson, Kingsley Fawnon, who justified the attack.
“The justification of that attack by Kingsley Fawnon speaks volumes. It shows how reckless some functionaries in the Kogi government have become,” Okutepa said.
He called on the Nigerian Federal Government to take action against the desecration of the Supreme Court and to ensure that the governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo, condemns the attacks.
“The Nigerian Federal Government must not sit and watch the desecration of the Supreme Court by political thugs and criminals attacking those who approached our courts for remedies. That is the civilized thing to do,” Okutepa said.
Okutepa warned that the country is heading towards calamity if the judiciary continues to ignore facts of fraudulent electoral processes. “The only way Nigerian democracy can be saved is for the Nigerian judiciary to stop ignoring facts of fraudulent electoral processes and not to give garment of legitimacy to otherwise illegitimate electoral processes,” Okutepa concluded.