The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere on Sunday cautioned the factional Secretary-General of Ohanaeze, Mr. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, over his purported comments on the Presidential Election Petition Court’s handling.
Afenifere in a statement by the organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, accused Mr Isiguzoro of engaging in unnecessary incitement by allegedly pre-empting the tribunal handling the cases arising from the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
The group pointed out that there was no basis for anyone to be hiding under the guise of freedom of expression to engage in incitement bordering on both treason and contempt of the court.
It stated that apart from constituting an intimidation of the judiciary, the statement credited to Mr Isiguzoro is inciting, saying, “everyone knows that the only means of changing government known to law is through the ballot box”.
He added, “this is not just a constitutional provision in Nigeria, it is also the norm in all countries that hold the right of the people to determine who govern them as sacrosanct”.
“Isiguzoro, in his statement had asserted that “the interpretation of the constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate to win 25 % of 2/3 of the states and the Federal Capital Territory FCT), Abuja, is a crucial issue that the judiciary must address. We emphasise the consequences of an erroneous judgment in light of recent events such as the Nigerien military coup”, it said.
Afenifere added, “this statement is too weighty not to be challenged because of its far-reaching implications. In the first place, the issue of FCT status on which there was already a judicial pronouncement is also one of the issues before the Tribunal presently.
“Secondly, even if a party in a political case considered the judgement of a tribunal or court as ‘erroneous’, the option is not to call for military takeover as the law clearly provides room for proceeding to the appellate court.”
“Thus, Isiguzoro’s position, among other things, contravenes Section 133 of the Criminal Code Act in Nigeria. The code in subsection (4) says that a person is in contempt of the court if “while a judicial proceeding is pending, makes use of any speech or writing, misrepresenting such proceeding.”
