Nigerian judiciary has been sabotaged – PDP Presidential Candidate

…says, I fought good fight for Nigerians

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Atiku Abubakar has faulted the Supreme Court’s judgement dismissing
his appeal against President Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory.
Reacting to the judgement yesterday, Atiku said the judiciary has been
sabotaged “like every estate of our realm”.
A seven-man panel of the apex court dismissed the appeal filed by the
PDP candidate on the grounds that it lacked merit.
Like the presidential election petition tribunal, the panel held that
there was nothing to prove Atiku’s argument that Buhari was not
qualified to contest in the last election.
In a statement, the former vice-president cried foul over the
judgement and accused the “cabal” of disrupting Nigeria’s democratic
progress.
“The Nigerian judiciary, just like every estate of our realm, has been
sabotaged and undermined by an overreaching and dictatorial cabal, who
have undone almost all the democratic progress the Peoples Democratic
Party and its administrations nurtured for sixteen years, up until
2015,” he said.
“Can Nigeria continue like this? Recently, former United States
Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield,
averred that Nigeria had rolled back the democratic gains she made in
2015. When democracy is rolled back, the economy, the society and the
judiciary will not be far behind.
“Today, the nail has been put on the coffin and the gains we
collectively made since 1999 are evaporating, and a requiem is at
hand.”
He said a democracy should constitute a strong judiciary, a free press
and an impartial electoral umpire, adding that “Nigeria has none of
those three elements as at today”.
Atiku added that he will keep on “fighting for Nigeria and for
democracy, and also for justice”.
“To those who think they have broken my spirit, I am sorry to
disappoint you,” he said.
“I am too focused on Nigeria to think about myself. I gave up that
luxury twenty years ago. The question is not if I am broken. The
question is if Nigeria is whole?
“This is not a time for too many words. It will suffice for me to
remind Nigeria of this – we are an independent nation and we are the
architects of our fate. If we do not build a free Nigeria, we may end
up destroying her, and God forbid that that should be the case.”

  …we leave it to God — Secondus

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche
Secondus, has said the party is leaving the Supreme Court’s judgement
on Atiku Abubakar’s appeal to “God the ultimate judge”.
Secondus was reacting to the defeat suffered by Atiku, presidential
candidate of the PDP, at the apex court.
The court dismissed the appeal filed by Atiku against President
Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory.
Tanko Mohammed, chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), said after examining
the arguments from the parties to the case, the panel concluded that
the appeal lacks merit.
In a statement issued by Ike Abonyi, his media aide, Secondus said the
judgement does not change the fact that Nigerians rejected the All
Progressives Congress (APC) at the poll.
The national chairman thanked Nigerians for “their commitment and
support to the party and to democracy”.
He added that Nigerians’ commitment to democracy and its tenets
“despite inhibiting factors is worthy of emulation and highly
commendable”.
“We thank you for your support for PDP, for your commitment to
democracy. Nigerians know that you voted PDP, even APC knows that you
rejected them on February 23, 2019, the international community knows
you voted for PDP, if Supreme Court of seven justices says otherwise,
leave it to God the ultimate Judge,” he said.
He asked citizens to remain steadfast in their prayers to God, adding
that the country is in such an untidy state that only God can bail her
out.