By Eteteonline
While results from the remaining sixteen states were being awaited, and in the midst of the storms and protests, the Association for a Better Nigeria (ABN) went to court again and sought another injunction to restrain the NEC from publishing the remaining results. The action was filed by the National Coordinator of the ABN. By the time the case was being heard, the sixteen states had submitted their results to the NEC in Abuja.
While the nation was eagerly waiting for the remaining results to be officially published, an Abuja High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Dahiru Saleh, who heard the application for an injunction, granted the prayers sought by the ABN. By this injunction, NEC was restrained from announcing the results pending the disposal of the application in Court 9, a reference to an earlier application that sought to prevent NEC from conducting the presidential election.
Interestingly, as some observers put it, NEC decided to obey this particular order of the court and suspend further announcements of results. This time around, it could not rely on Section 19 of Decree 13 to defy the court order. Moreover, contempt proceedings had begun against the commission for disobeying an earlier court order not to conduct the election in the first place.
As pressure and criticisms mounted for the release of the remaining election results, the Federal Capital Territory Chief Judge, Justice Saleh, declared the presidential election illegal because it had earlier been stopped by a High Court order, which was disobeyed by NEC. The election was not proper and therefore not legal, he said in the ruling. The case was the second suit instituted by the ABN, and the ruling given barely a week after Justice Saleh issued the injunction that stopped the announcement of results.
This development came like a bombshell, causing anguish, disappointment, and confusion. Politicians, social critics, and interest and pressure groups called for the release of the remaining results. This call was followed by an appeal to SDP supporters to remain calm. Its National Secretary, Alhaji Sule Lamido, said that they should not allow themselves to be provoked. “Nigerians have spoken their minds and have elected the leader of their choice,” he declared, and they should rejoice for their ability to organize a free, just, and fair election for the first time.
Many Nigerians denounced the way and manner in which the courts granted injunctions. They said the court was the last hope of the common man and should not make a mockery of the legal process or destroy the faith and confidence the people have in it. In the view of Dr. Tai Solarin, the court injunction could plunge the country into crisis, and he warned of the activities of some Nigerians who were bent on tearing the country apart. This, he said, was unacceptable.
Arguments, comments, and consultations went on across the nation. The legality or illegality of ABN’s actions continued to capture attention and occupy the headlines. Lawyers had a field day debating the issues.
Matters did not end there; some aggrieved members of the public who claimed to have voted in the election and were entitled to know the results, initiated actions in other high courts to compel NEC to release the remaining results.
Consequently, a Lagos High Court, after hearing the application, ordered NEC to release the results and announce the winner. Similar orders also came from the Ibadan, Jos, and Benin High Courts, respectively. However, these orders were not obeyed by NEC.
The speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, in calling on NEC to release the remaining election results, said: “It is disheartening to note that the NEC, which did not respect a court injunction to conduct the election, now performs below expectation when it has respected an injunction not to announce the results of the election.”
The Nigerian Medical Association drew attention to the adverse consequence the tension and anxiety may have on the health care delivery sector. In a statement issued by the Association, its Secretary General said: “It must be realized that the delay in releasing the poll’s results has led to a heightening of anxiety among Nigerians, and the fears of unrest would have led to hypertension. The nation’s health care delivery system is in such a deplorable situation that it cannot receive and manage satisfactorily casualties from any nationwide civil disobedience.”
Other reactions came from the National Association for the Advancement of Democracy and the Association of Nigerian Authors. All these reactions, comments, and criticisms took place amidst official silence. The official silence and inaction to resolve the impasse became another source of worry to the public.
A government spokesman said that NEC had not reported any problem it was confronting since the beginning of the deadlock. This, however, did not deter people from calling for government intervention, as many citizens expressed their frustration through protests and media campaigns demanding a resolution to the deadlock.
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