Election Tribunals: PDP Alerts Of Interferences From Court of Appeal

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alerts the President of the Court of
Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa of reports of undue interferences,
emanating from her office, in the activities of various election
petition tribunals and other judicial cases, ostensibly to sway them
against the PDP and in favor of the APC.

While we would not want to believe that the President of the Court of
Appeal is so involved, given the sensitivity of her office, we wish to
caution in very strong terms, that such is completely unacceptable as it
principally detracts from the sanctity of the judiciary as the citadel
of justice and erode the trust reposed on it by the people.

We expect the President of the Court of Appeal to understand that an
impartial judiciary is critical to the survival of our democracy and the
stability of this nation. In this regard therefore, we urge her to
ensure that there is no further interference in electoral matters in
tribunals and courts, as they must be allowed to run through the full
course of justice.

Furthermore, we wish to reiterate our earlier call on the Chief Justice
of the Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed to guide jealously the
independence of the judiciary which he heads, and ensure that any
activity that tends to undermine the sanctity of this arm of government
is stiffly resisted in the interest of democracy.

In any case, the PDP restates that it will continue to closely monitor
proceedings in various tribunals and other judicial cases, and will use
every means within the ambit of the law to ensure that nobody, no matter
how highly placed, interferes in judicial matters, especially political
cases.



Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary