The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has taken the protest against the Supreme Court judgement to the United States and the United Kingdom.
The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, on Friday, led other party chieftains in a protest march to the American Embassy and the British High Commission in Abuja.
Protest letters were separately delivered to officials of the US Embassy and the Brith High Commission by Secondus who sought the intervention of the two countries in the matter.
The letter, entitled, Perversion of Justice: Deliberate Efforts At Truncating Democracy in Nigeria, detailed a number of inconsistencies in the apex court’s judgement in the Imo governorship election. The letter was signed by Secondus.
In the said judgement, the Supreme Court had, on January 14, 2020, sacked the Mr Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as governor and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma as winner of the election.
A copy of the letter, made available to newsmen in Abuja, alleged a serious case of judicial compromise and deliberate perversion of justice by the apex court.
The party stated that the judgment was threatening the country’s democracy as well as the peace, stability and corporate existence of the nation.
The letter further stated, “You may recall that our party, the PDP, the leading opposition party in Nigeria, has been raising issues regarding the continuous interference and arm-twisting of the judiciary by the executive arm and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to influence the outcome of election petitions in various courts, annul elections won by our party and transfer victory to the APC.
“Your Excellency, it may have come to your notice that there have been serious protests in various states of our nation threatening the stability of our nation over a recent judgment of the Supreme Court.
“On the 14th of January 2020, the Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Tanko, in a most bizarre judgment and against the dictates of all laws and judicial practice, overturned the Imo state governorship election clearly won by Emeka Ihedioha/PDP, who had since been sworn in and handed the state over to the APC and its candidate, Senator Hope Uzodimma.
“It is instructive to inform you that this perversion of justice has already sparked off protests in various parts of our country and has become a clear threat to peace, unity and stability of our nation and the survival of our democracy.
“We rejected the judgment with a clear call for a judicial review and ultimate reversal of the judgment by the Supreme Court.
Nigerians had been at a shock over the voiding of the lawful election of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, who scored 276,404 votes) and awarding fictitious votes to declare Hope Uzodimma of the APC, who scored 96, 458 votes as governor of Imo state that the Supreme voided.
In order to achieve this, the Supreme Court, on its own, declared additional votes (beyond the official number of accredited voters) from purported 388 polling units, not certified by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and donated same to the APC and its candidate to declare them winner”.
The party also stated that the judgement was a deliberate miscarriage of justice against the PDP and the nation’s democratic order.
The PDP cited a number of issues in the Imo judgement that clearly contradicted previous judicial pronouncements and authorities of the Supreme Court in similar election petition cases to back up its claims.
Vote analyses and official figures of accredited voters contained in the records of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were copiously quoted in the letters to the two countries.
One of the points raised by the party was the allocation of votes to the APC candidate by the apex court, which invariably shot the number of total votes cast at the Imo governorship election over and above the number of accredited voters.
“Is there any law, which permits the Supreme Court or anyone else for that matter, to unilaterally increase the total accredited votes by any margin after the accreditation and or the election?
“From the foregoing, it is our position that the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Mohammed Tanko, has become heavily compromised; lost its credibility and is now annexed to the ignoble agenda of the APC-led Federal Government against the Nigerian people.
“With the verdict, the Supreme Court executed a coup against the PDP and the people of Imo state as well as other Nigerians, and such must not be allowed to have a place in our democracy.
“The fact is that, the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Tanko, has lost its credibility and no longer commands the respect and confidence of Nigerians.
“If the people no longer repose confidence in the Supreme Court, then our democracy, national cohesion and stability are at great risk.
“The constitution of the panel that heard the appeal itself was a product of drama. The panel was changed three times and any judge that showed signs of not agreeing to murder democracy in this case was promptly removed by the CJN.
“The result had to be unanimous to satisfy the script of rationality. But can any judge who sat on that panel go home and sleep well? Can any judge who sat on that panel face his creator and swear that impartial justice was done? We think not.
“The PDP firmly holds that if the flawed judgment of the Supreme Court on Imo governorship election is allowed to stand, it would be a recipe for anarchy, chaos and constitutional crisis not only in Imo state but in the entire country”, it added.
The PDP called on the two countries and the international community to take more than a passing glance at the matter, in order to avoid imminent breakdown of law and order.
“Our demand is that Justice Tanko Mohammed immediately steps down as CJN and chairman of the National Judicial Council as Nigerians have lost confidence in him and a Supreme Court under his leadership.
“Also, in the light of extraordinary circumstances that vitiate that judgment as a product of manipulation and a clear coup against the will of the people of Imo State, we demand that the decision of the Supreme Court on the Imo Governorship Election be reviewed and reversed in the interest of justice.
“Anything short of this is a direct invitation to anarchy, chaos and a huge threat to our democracy and the corporate existence of our nation”.

By GbadeOgunwale