The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said the threat contained in the written address by lawyers to President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) is a pre-emptive move to intimidate and blackmail the judiciary.
PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said the written address “threatening crisis and anarchy in the country in the event of the court ruling that their clients did not meet the constitutionally required 25% votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is subversive, an affront to democratic order and assault on the corporate existence of the nation.”
The opposition party said a threat, either through counsel or officials of the APC is calculated to intimidate and harass the judiciary and indeed Nigerians.
Part of the statement said, “PDP holds that the clear intent of the APC is to blackmail the court and emasculate the independence of the judiciary to discharge its duties in accordance with the dictates of the law. This action is ostensibly to set the stage to orchestrate violent crisis in various parts of the country with the intention to further blackmail the PEPC.
“The PDP however cautions and emphasises that Nigeria is a country of Rule of Law. The statutory requirements for a winner in a presidential election as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022 are clear and unambiguous.
“The APC must therefore respect the provisions of the law and allow the judiciary to discharge its duties independently; without threats, intimidation and coercion.”
According to the statement, “Contrary to the doomsday claims of the APC and its lawyers, upholding the provisions of the constitution and the laws at this point will rather promote peace and stability in the polity, deepen our democracy and engender confidence in the institution of the judiciary.”
