The Constitution No Longer Form Basis For Supreme Court Judgement In Nigeria — Olisa Agbakoba, SAN

Olisa Agbakoba, a senior attorney and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has expressed skepticism about the judiciary’s capacity to administer impartial justice as politicians and their parties turn to the courts to resolve disputes resulting from the recently concluded general election.

Mr. Agbakoba claimed in an interview with Channels Television that recent court rulings did not reflect what may be referred to as reasonable assessment of political concerns.

In his words, “I’ve lost a bit of confidence in what the courts have been doing lately. There was a time you could say, on the facts and the law, this is the likely outcome. Today you cannot, because there’s been all kinds of silly decisions”.

The senior attorney cited a shocking ruling by the Supreme Court that recognized Senate President Ahmed Lawan as the legitimate All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in his senatorial district, despite the fact that Lawan did not participate in the primaries and instead hijacked Bashir Machina’s victory.

He said the ruling by the Supreme Court was the most absurd one he had ever heard.

Nonetheless, he acknowledged that his confidence in the legal system has diminished and that he won’t be surprised if this case goes one way or the other.

In his words, “that is the most ridiculous decision I’ve ever heard that the Supreme Court has delivered.

“I don’t have the sort of confidence that I used to have in the judiciary and I will not be surprised if this thing goes one way or the other. I cannot forecast the outcome.”