Stop imposing politicians on Nigerians – Falana tells Nigerian courts

Femi Falana (SAN), the human rights lawyer, Thursday, sent message of warning to Nigerian courts to “stop imposing politicians on Nigerians”.

Falana said: “the involvement of the courts in the electoral process has not been favourable to the country’s democracy.”

The senior advocate of Nigeria made this revelation while speaking on “The Role of the Courts in the Electoral Process and the Time Bomb of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022”.

The speech was delivered at the Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Ondo Branch.

As postulated by the legal luminary, the courts have hands in appointment of party officers and scheduling of national conventions of political parties.

“The courts have been involved in the appointment of party officers and the endorsement of candidates sponsored by political parties to contest elections.

“Even the meetings of the organs and national conventions of political parties are fixed by the courts. Cases arising from the management of political parties are filed in the high court of the FCT or at the federal high court, outside the venue of the dispute.

“The winners of primaries and general elections are no longer determined by the electorate, but by the election petition tribunals and courts,” Falana was quoted as saying via a statement issued by his aide, Tayo Soyemi.