Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate for president in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, has explained why he chose not to sue the government of President Bill Tinubu after other opposition parties did.
He claimed that even if he had done so, he didn’t believe that justice would have been done, noting that he had no faith in the tribunal because it had never previously rendered justice in election-related cases.
Sowore questioned why Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the presidential candidates for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, would believe their case would be unique when answering questions on Arise News. According to Sowore, Nigerian courts have never declared an election invalid.
His response came after the tribunal’s decision on Wednesday regarding the presidential election petition. At the presidential election on February 25, the tribunal had upheld President Bole Tinubu’s victory.
Recall how Tinubu’s victory had been contested in court by Atiku and Obi, along with their respective parties. Yesterday, the tribunal, while upholding Tinubu’s victory, dismissed their cases.
In response, Sowore stated, “What you are saying regarding the Labour Party and the PDP is what people like us have always said that they are the same.
We don’t participate in that coalition or alliance. Concerning the court, you should go there if someone steals your property and you try to get it back from him but he refuses. As soon as the court starts, you must wait.
“However, it’s unlikely that I’ll go to the same court when I feel mistreated on this scale because it gave you a governor who finished fourth in Imo state. I cannot tell you that I have implicit or explicit confidence in a court that has failed to uphold the rights of individuals like me since I was born in this nation.
You can pretty much predict the court’s decision if you go to trial.
In addition, it was discovered that the AAC’s nominee noted that court appearances by opposition parties are frequently encouraged as a way to pacify Nigerians.
The Nigerian judiciary has never declared a presidential election invalid, the speaker continued. Even in 2007, when they held an election without serial numbers on the ballot papers, the court ruled that you don’t need serial numbers, and Yar’Adua, the candidate for whom the election was rigged by President Olusegun Obasanjo, came out and said this election was problematic. It didn’t matter; he took the booty.
“Therefore, I don’t think we should go to a court that might not be able to do it or that hasn’t done justice for us in cases like this before.
“I believe that they are requesting that these individuals appear in court in order to calm Nigerians’ nerves and convince them that this nonsense is a fait accompli.”Additionally, they made sure there were no street uprisings to reclaim the stolen mandate of any rigged elections they held.
They know what would happen, which is why they direct you to the courtroom. Additionally, we are aware of the political parties in charge of establishing these courts. Consequently, we cannot be here fooling ourselves.
