Judges shouldn’t determine winners if INEC conducts proper elections – Falana

A human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said that the judiciary should not determine winners of elections in Nigeria.

Falana stated this while commenting on the Supreme Court’s verdict which affirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s election during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and affirmed the ruling of the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal that upheld the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress in the February 25 election.

But during the interview, Falana said, “The Supreme Court’s verdict is not a judicial endorsement of the presidential election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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“Even with the judgment, it is very clear that Nigeria has a long way to go to ensure that credible elections are conducted, elections that will be devoid of acrimony; elections that everyone of us will be proud of.

“The presidential election is concluded; it should have been concluded in February, but it was just concluded by the Supreme Court. It should not be so. The judiciary should not determine the winners of elections. Judges are not seated to determine winners of elections. That is a job exclusively reserved for INEC if it’s done properly.”