FLAG-BEARER of the People’s Democratic Party in the 2019 Presidential Election, Atiku Abubakar said the Nigerian judiciary has been undermined and sabotaged by an overreaching dictatorial cabal, following the Supreme Court verdict on his tribunal appeal on Wednesday.
The panel dismissed the PDP and its candidate 66-ground appeal against the judgment of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal on September 11.
Atiku in a statement on his official Twitter handle said the dictatorial cabal has undone almost all the democratic progress PDP administrations nurtured for sixteen years before 2015.
He noted that while democracy has rolled back, the economy, society, and judiciary will not be far behind.
“While I believe that only God is infallible everywhere, and only Nigerians are infallible in our democracy, I must accept that the judicial route I chose to take, as a democrat, has come to a conclusion.”
“Whether justice was done, is left to the Nigerian people to decide. As a democrat, I fought a good fight for the Nigerian people. I will keep on fighting for Nigeria and for democracy, and also for justice,” he wrote.
Atiku said those who think they have broken him, that his spirit is not broken because he’s too focused on Nigeria to think about himself.
“I gave up that luxury twenty years ago. The question is not if I am broken. The question is if Nigeria is whole?”
“One man, one woman, one youth, one vote, should be the only way to make gains in a democracy. And when that is thwarted, the clock starts to tick,” he said.
Thanking all Nigerians who have stayed on course with him, he said the judgment is part of democratic challenges Nigerians must face as a nation.
“The judgment is part of democratic challenges we must face as a nation. Can Nigeria continue like this?”
Recently, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, averred that Nigeria had rolled back the democratic gains she made in 2015.
He said in a democracy, a strong judiciary, a free press and an impartial electoral umpire are needed and Nigeria has none of the three elements.
“Today, the nail has been put on the coffin and the gains we collectively made since 1999 are evaporating, and a requiem is at hand.”
Quoting Sophocles, Atiku said: “If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: “Thou shalt not ration justice”.
He said Nigeria is an independent nation and the citizens are the architects of their fate.
“I was a democrat, I am a democrat, and I will always continue to be a democrat, May God bless Nigeria,” he said.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94