NBA cautions Buhari, governors over influencing election tribunal judges

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has warned President Mohammadu Buhari, and the newly sworn-in governors against trying to influence election tribunal judges engaged in the proceedings of post-election court cases in different election tribunals in the country.

The body cautioned Buhari and the governors by reminding them that unduly interfering in court cases would be a contravention of the oaths of offices they took on Wednesday, May 29.

This was contained in a statement NBA’s national publicity secretary, Kunle Edun, released on  Wednesday to herald the inauguration of the elected leaders in the executive arm for a four-year term in office.

The statement quoted NBA President, Paul Usoro (SAN), as describing the inauguration as a milestone in the country’s democratic journey.

“The NBA president notes that today is a milestone in the Nigerian democratic experience as the country marks 20 years of uninterrupted civil rule.

“The NBA president states that the experience of the last 20 years has evidently shown that there is no substitute for democracy, but for citizens to reap the full benefits of any democracy, government must be consciously dedicated to the observance of the rule of law at all times.

“The NBA president further states that one of the indices of respect of the rule of law is the strengthening of the independence of the judiciary.

“The NBA shall not hesitate to always call on the other arms of government not to weaken the judicial arm of government. It is pertinent for government at all levels to obey and abide by orders of courts.

“In this light, the NBA president brings to fore the pending election petitions challenging some of the elections that heralded the inauguration the nation is witnessing today.

“It is the hope of the Bar that the heads of governments being sworn in today shall not unduly influence the Bench, as doing so would be a contravention of the oaths of offices taken today.

“The NBA president congratulates the heads of governments, charges them to engage in masses-friendly policies and wishes Nigerians a memorable inauguration day,” the statement read.

Many politicians are currently challenging their defeats during the last general elections in courts.

Already, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, are accusing Buhari of plots to see that its court case challenging his victory is compromised by the judiciary