A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mba Ukweni, has appealed to Nigerians to stop demonising the judiciary over its judgments. He made the call in an interview on Thursday in Calabar.
Mr Ukweni was reacting to the criticism and condemnation that trailed the judgment of the presidential election petitions tribunal delivered in Abuja on September 6.
The tribunal upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 presidential election, dismissing the petitions filed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
The legal practitioner said that the tribunal judges based their decision on the evidence presented before them and the law. He said that those who were dissatisfied with the judgment had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
“I don’t like a situation where the judiciary is castigated to the point of intimidation due to their work. The judiciary has had a lot of rough times in this country,” said Mr Ukweni.
“There has been the issue of undue interference with the judiciary, an arm of government that is supposed to be independent from the other arms and dispassionate.”
He added, “Judges are not infallible. It is only God who is. So, the public should be a little patient with the judiciary.”
Mr Ukweni also stated that Nigeria needed strong institutions to ensure good governance and democracy.
(NAN)