Former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has warned that Nigeria could repeat the events that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election if the judiciary continues to interfere in the progress of opposition parties.
Amaechi, who is the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, made the comparison while reacting to the Federal High Court judgment that voided former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s emergence as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Naija News reports.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Amaechi recalled how the annulment of the election won by the late Moshood Abiola led to years of political crisis and eventually Abiola’s death in detention.
He expressed concern that court decisions could frustrate opposition parties whenever they make progress in Nigerian politics.
“One thing that one should be careful about is that every time you have the opposition making any progress in Nigerian politics, there’s always somebody in the judiciary who would want to know the order.
“It happened to Abiola, which led to the death of Abiola. It’s happening again. None of them cares to know that the interest of the country is important,” he said.
The former governor, however, insisted that the ADC was not against the judiciary or the delivery of justice but wanted judges to remain fair and independent.
“We’re not saying don’t do justice. But we’re saying in doing justice, make sure that it’s justice. Don’t pretend to be a member of the other party,” he added.
Amaechi also disclosed that the party would challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal, expressing confidence that the higher court would properly examine the decision.
He said the trial court’s decision should not be treated as final, noting that the legal system allows higher courts to review decisions made by lower courts.
“Whether Lifu is right or wrong, we’ll know when we go to the Court of Appeal,” he stated.
He also urged ADC supporters not to panic over the judgment, asking them to continue their political activities and campaigns while the appeal process continues.
According to him, the party believes the Court of Appeal will deliver justice in the matter.
Amaechi further questioned how the case was handled at the Federal High Court, particularly the decision to proceed without first settling the issue of jurisdiction.
He argued that jurisdiction is a key issue in every court case and should have been addressed before other matters were considered.
“The issue before Lifu was the issue of jurisdiction. I don’t know why they proceeded with that. Jurisdiction is the live wire of every case,” he said.
The ADC chieftain also questioned why the party’s lawyers did not challenge the procedure adopted by the judge, insisting that the issue of jurisdiction was fundamental to the case.
For context, the June 12, 1993 presidential election was won by Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the poll on June 23, 1993.
Abiola later declared himself president and was arrested under the government of General Sani Abacha in 1994. He died in detention on July 7, 1998, without being sworn in as president.
