Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on Wednesday declared that courts should not be allowed to determine the winners of elections in Nigeria.

Falana insisted that the involvement of the judiciary in Nigeria’s democratic process should be limited because it’s making a mockery of the citizen’s choices.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Sunrise Daily, the activist lawyer noted that there are no indications that the judiciary is positioned to address the challenges that could arise in the 2027 general elections.

According to Falana: “There is no indication yet that the Nigerian judiciary is positioned to address some of the challenges that may emanate with respect to some of the elections likely to take place in January and February next year.

“For me, the first matter to address is the role of the judiciary in the electoral process in Nigeria. We must stop the practice whereby the court determine the winners of the election in Nigeria.”

Falana insisted that the judiciary should not be allowed to hide under technicalities to make a mockery of those duly elected by Nigerians.

He stressed on the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and relevant stakeholders to ensure the conduct of proper elections devoid of electoral irregularities.

Falana added: “We just had an election in Osun State, forget all the shortcomings, at the end of the day, the beauty of it will be that the governorship election will not go to court because the people have decided, they have elected their leader so no court should be allowed to hide under technicalities to make a mockery of the popular choice of the people.

“So for me, the role of the judiciary must have to be extremely limited in the democratic process in our country. Again that depends on the media, INEC, and all concerned Nigerians to ensure that elections are conducted, no fake results are announced, so that you limit the area that people might want to go to tribunal, the regular court, or the appellate court. We must start with the conduct of good elections so that our courts are limited in the democratic process.”

The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Emmanuel Ugboaja, is dead. Ugboaja, the fifth General Secretary of the NLC, died after a protracted illness.

Report says NLC President Joe Ajaero read a letter from the late General Secretary’s family to members of the Congress National Executive Council (NEC), who are meeting in Enugu, Enugu State.

The late General Secretary was a veteran trade unionist and lawyer who was appointed NLC General Secretary in August 2019.

Ugboaja was born on May 15, 1966, and obtained a law degree from the University of Calabar in 1987. After spending about four years in private legal practice, he entered the trade union movement in 1993.

The NLC’s historical biography describes him as the first Nigerian lawyer to work full-time for a trade union.

His first major union position was with the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), an NLC affiliate. He rose through the organisation and served as its General Secretary from 2000 to 2005.

Civil-Society and Political Experience

Ugboaja’s career was not confined to conventional trade unionism.

From 2006 to 2009, he served as Coordinator, Advocacy and Mobilisation, at the Alliance for Credible Elections, a civil-society organisation focused on electoral issues.

He subsequently joined the NLC Secretariat in 2009.

Bandits have killed four people and abducted four others in Gorau community, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The attack occurred around 9pm on Wednesday, barely six days after a boat mishap in the community claimed 65 lives.

The assailants also shot seven residents, who sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment in hospital.

The bandits reportedly targeted families who were beneficiaries of the N1 million relief donation announced by the Sokoto State Government for each family of the victims of the boat disaster.

Confirming the attack, the village head of Gorau, Alhaji Aliyu Magaji Na-Batsami, said the assailants went from house to house in search of the relief money.

He said the attackers broke into virtually every room in his residence while demanding to know where the N1 million donated to the affected families had been kept.

“They shot 11 persons. Four died instantly, while the remaining seven were evacuated to the hospital for treatment. They also abducted four others.

“They came because of the money donated to the families of the victims of the recent boat mishap in our community, which claimed the lives of 65 persons,” he said.

According to the traditional ruler, the four people killed in the attack were identified as Bashar Sani, Ila Malam Makeri, Isa Ibrahim and Ali Aminu.

He said the number of casualties could have been higher without the swift intervention of security operatives.

“We thank the security operatives for their swift response. They came in four vehicles and pursued the bandits,” he said.

The attack occurred less than a week after a boat carrying residents of Gorau capsized, killing 65 people, many of them children, mostly girls.

Following the tragedy, the state government announced a N1 million donation to each family of the victims and the distribution of grains as part of measures to provide relief to those affected.

The latest incident has, however, heightened concerns about the vulnerability of the bereaved families and the security of the relief funds provided to them.