Supreme Court judgement on Lawan, travesty of justice –HURIWA

Prominent civil rights advocacy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has described as a travesty of justice and a grave affront to constitutionalism and democracy the inexplicable majority judgment delivered on Monday, in which the Supreme court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Bashir Machina’s candidature thus installing Ahmed Lawan who never contested the lawfully recognised Party primary as the flagbearer in the February 2023 National Assembly poll.

HURIWA which reacted to the verdict of the Appeal instituted by the All Progressives Congress against the rightful candidate of the party that emerged through a process of party primary -Alhaji Bashir Machina, HURIWA affirmed that the decision of the Supreme Court to hide under technicalities to deny citizen Bashir Machina his lawfully deserved candidature of the All Progressives Congress shows that the Supreme Court has deliberately become the ‘ordaining prelate’ or DONOR of electoral slots to political parties rather than allow the due process of party primary to become Supreme.

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The group lambasted the Supreme Court for once more manifesting a shameless predilection to mutilate and mess up Democratic ethics on the altar of technicalities, recalled that the majority decision of the Supreme court returning Ahmed Lawan as APC candidate in the 2023 Senatorial poll when the extant electoral Act does not permit dual participation of a single person in both the presidential primary election and then the primary for the Senate Seat.

“This ruling of the nation’s Supreme Court is shameful and is a big aberration reminding us of how this same Supreme court returned Mr. Hope Uzodinma of the APC who came fourth in the 2019 Imo State governorship election to the position of number one won by the then People’s Democratic Party’s Emeka Ihedioha who was forced out of office after seven months as the governor of Imo State.

HURIWA applauded Justices Adamu Jauro and Emmanuel Agim, two judges of the Supreme Court, who affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal thus: “I affirm the brilliant judgment of the appellate court as to the appropriateness of the use of originating summons,” Agim said.

 “The failure to challenge the findings of facts defeats the entire appeal.”

HURIWA recalled that Bashir Machina won unopposed during the senatorial primary organised by the party in May 2022.

But the senate president was said to have participated in another primary organised by the APC after he contested the presidential ticket unsuccessfully in June.