Kassim Afegbua, a media consultant and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, to allow the Supreme Court to do its job and stop “media trial tactic”.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Supreme Court, on Monday, reserved judgment in the appeal by Atiku and the PDP against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the presidential election.
“Those interested in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s downfall should please stop the current media trial, and allow the Supreme Court do its job, in line with the procedural requirement of the Court.
“Instead of setting up a media committee to blackmail the Justices of the apex court, he should allow his legal committee to present his case before their Lordships that they may argue his case with evidences that will address his gravamen. This recurrent resort to blackmail, armtwisting, media trial and backroom tactics will not work,” Afegbua, a Former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Edo State, said in a statement he signed.
He added that the nation’s present challenges are enormous and addressing them “is our immediate and deliberate concern now, to take the country to greater heights.”
The statement reads: “It is now being said that the presidential candidate of the PDP, Waziri Atiku Abubakar has set up a media committee for the sole purpose of revving up the media to thoroughly embarrass and blackmail the justices of the Supreme Court. He tried this backroom tactic during the Presidential Tribunal, but it didn’t work for him. Any matter that is before any court of competent jurisdiction should be allowed to be thoroughly exhausted by the authorities.
“Those interested in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s downfall should please stop the current media trial, and allow the Supreme Court do its job, in line with the procedural requirement of the Court. Instead of setting up a media committee to blackmail the Justices of the apex court, he should allow his legal committee to present his case before their Lordships that they may argue his case with evidences that will address his gravamen. This recurrent resort to blackmail, armtwisting, media trial and backroom tactics will not work.
“The evidence that is being bandied and touted about should be taken to the Supreme Court, and if already there, should be left there to see if it will be accepted as extraordinary evidence. We will soon see the outcome, DV. In the meantime, let us please have some peace, respite and quiet. Atiku Abubakar’s publicists have become the interpreters of our laws, by passing verdicts on matters that are before the Supreme Court. The jurisdiction of the court must continue to be held sacrosanct and without prejudice.
“All the media attacks by Atiku’s publicists are ill-intentioned, destructive, and provocative to say the least, and should be stopped forthwith. Law courts are not comedy halls for exhibiting comical skills to please the audience. Law courts are hallowed chambers and temples of lustice, where issues are presented, argued, and judgments delivered; based on the evidence canvassed beyond reasonable doubt.
“The current attempts to blackmail the Supreme Court over the election matter only leaves a sour taste in our mouths. Political desperation strategies cannot be equated with judicial adjudication; there are extant laid down procedures for issues like this. The Supreme Court is a court of jurisprudence and cannot suddenly acquire new status because one Waziri Atiku Abubakar seeks to become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What is right is right. Atiku Abubakar must tell his publicists to put a stop to the media blackmail and armtwisitng.
“He cannot be a Judge in his own case, and or the accuser and the Judge, all because of his desperate desire to ascend the throne of political leadership of the country. Our nation is a sovereign nation. The present challenges facing Nigeria, are enormous; and how to address these challenges to birth a new dawn is our immediate and deliberate concern now, to take the country to greater heights. We cannot be bugged down by a man who thinks his wishes must be done by all means.”
