Lawyer, Opatola Victor has warned that INEC’s actions risk undermining political party autonomy and threatening the conduct of free and fair elections in the country, regarding the independence of Nigeria’s electoral body that has come under scrutiny as questions emerge over its interpretation of party leadership disputes.
Speaking In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Opatola provided assessment of the recent controversies surrounding the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and INEC’s role in internal party disputes, in which he expressed concern that the electoral body had overstepped its regulatory mandate, venturing into matters reserved for the judiciary.
“In this particular instance, the mere fact that INEC chose to interpret, you know, what and decide what Thetosko is, it has ventured and stepped into the role of a judicial body, which is the court, which is wrong as an independent auditor.”
He said it is unrealistic to believe that the current APC government and party are innocent bystanders. “When we look at the trajectory, the escalation and issues that arises from various political parties would stand as a major opponent to the current government. We tend to see that all of a sudden, they develop internal issues, which neutralises them as a major threat to the current APC, and that’s the current APC.”
Opatola addressed the recurring problem of courts using technical legal language, such as “Thetosko Antebellum,” without providing clarity. “When court gives its decision and use the word Thetosko, the court should endeavour to give clarity as to what it means by Thetosko Antebellum. From now, courts will decide these issues, will speak as to Thetosko Antebellum, should give clarity, should even go further than just drop this technical legal language. Should go further to give clarity and be exact as to what exactly is Thetosko Antebellum, and it will save the whole country, racking their heads to determine where the Thetosko Antebellum is or what exactly the Thetosko Antebellum is.”
He criticised INEC for taking on a judicial role rather than referring the matter to the Court of Appeal. “What INEC ought to do was go back to the Court of Appeal for the court to determine what the Thetosko is, The ADC have a limited time to conduct their Congress. They have until 30th of May to conduct their primaries. So, going to Court of Appeal to get an interpretation, it would definitely take time.”
Opatola also highlighted the responsibilities of party factions and the burden of proof in leadership disputes. “Bala Gombe was the one that approached the court. He was saying that he did not resign and his signature was forged. That is to show that the burden of proof is on him, For that to be upturned, Bala Gombe ought to prove beyond reasonable doubt because he is approaching the court based on forgery and the fact that he did not resign.”
He further commented on the low level of public trust in INEC. “The recent issues, the recent decisions of INEC chairman, you know, the decision to revalidate people with permanent voter’s card, the present ADC decision, you know, it has even further reduced the level of trust that a number of Nigerians have in INEC, coming from the last election that a lot of people do not really have trust in INEC. So, these decisions have clearly reduced even more the rate at which people trust INEC to effectively give a free and fair, conduct a free and fair election.”
On public protests against the INEC chairman, Opatola emphasised that proper legal channels should be used. “The protest should be directed at the National Assembly and also channelled via the court. Okay, directing this ventilation to the AINEC chairman, you know, giving our, it wouldn’t really work, you know.”
Opatola also examined the role of the courts in resolving party disputes. “To be honest, the courts are not really, really helpful when it comes to this issue because what the Supreme Court ought to do is give a definite guideline, which will guide parties and individuals as to what exactly comes under internal party affairs, When you give this guideline, individuals can know that this claim that I have, does it fall within the set of guidelines that the Supreme Court has given or it does not? Then it reduces the incessant manner with which almost everybody in a party goes to court. Our courts will be barraged with continuous issues of internal party guidelines and simple and easy things that can be determined by a guideline that is already set, You know, the court will have to keep on adjudicating and adjudicating all over it, you know, and the docket of the court will keep being jam-packed. The precious judicious time will be wasted on some of these things.”
He concluded that the ADC must return to the courts to seek interpretation. “The ADC have a limited time to conduct their Congress. They have until 30th of May to conduct their primaries. So, going to Court of Appeal to get an interpretation, it would definitely take time. So, the mere fact that INEC did what it did, it has placed a constraint on parties and it has ventured into a role it ought not to venture into.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
