A prominent Second Republic politician, Alhaji Usman Yakubu Wushshi, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of reaching out to some Supreme Court judges to rule against opposition parties in pending cases.
Wushshi made the allegation on Monday in Minna, the Niger State capital, during an exclusive chat with newsmen.
“The instructions were handed down to one of the judges from the Niger Delta to rule against opposition parties,” he claimed, referring to cases involving the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
He said several of the judges are under intense pressure to bend the law and please the Federal Government as directed, although a few believe such actions could damage their reputation for life, especially now that the international community is interested.
Wushshi said the President’s interference in the judiciary has been responsible for the conflicting judgments experienced in the last few years under the present administration, leading to loss of faith in the nation’s judiciary.
He further accused the President of engineering crises in all viable opposition parties. According to him, the said Nafiu Bala, who could barely express himself, is under siege and captivity and “is being used to scuttle the opposition parties.”
He added that a majority of Nigerians have lost hope in the judiciary in recent times, “a fact many in the international community are very concerned about.”
His remarks come amid growing claims that the President is trying to turn Nigeria into a one party state by using the judiciary to weaken opposition parties, in violation of the Electoral Act.
Both the PDP and ADC suits are slated for hearing on April 22. The cases have drawn attention from observers in Nigeria and abroad who view them as a pointer to the direction of the 2027 general elections.
Wushshi further alleged that the INEC Chairman acted under duress. “What the INEC Chairman did was against his conscience, but he was forced to illegally remove the leadership names of the ADC, an action he lacks the power to do,” he said.
The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and several legal luminaries, including Femi Falana, SAN; Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN; and a former INEC Legal Director, have also condemned the INEC Chairman’s action of removing David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola’s names from the Commission’s portal, describing it as illegal.
To support his claims, Wushshi cited two viral videos. In one, President Tinubu reportedly said opposition parties should obey court rules while accusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a leader in the ADC, of attempting to “privatise the party.”
In the other, Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, was seen at the 50th birthday of Hon. Leke Abejide’s wife allegedly instructing Abejide to “remain in the ADC and scatter the party.” Abejide is a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi State and is expected to run for the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the civil society group Alliance for Democratic Rights, ADR, has appealed to the Council of State to call the President to order over alleged interference in opposition party affairs.
ADR cited Section 83 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which states: “No court shall have power to entertain any suit in respect of the internal affairs of a political party.”
“It is not a hidden fact that Section 83 of the Electoral Act stipulates that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain any case that concerns the administration of political parties,” the group said.
Efforts to reach the Presidency, the Supreme Court, and INEC for reaction were unsuccessful as of press time.
