Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 presidential election, Peter Obi, has warned that corrupt “judiciary cultists” should not destroy Nigeria and its democracy with their relationship with powerful politicians. 

Mr Obi made the comment on Tuesday through his X account as part of his continued efforts to legally and politically urge the upturning of the results of the election insisting on a yet-to-be-proven assertion that he is the rightful winner of the election. 

In a strongly worded statement, the former Anambra governor reiterated that political leaders should not ostentatiously enjoy titles that they have no honour to support its weight. 

He said that in situations where there is public doubt as to the authenticity of claims made by political leaders, “it is the judiciary’s role, when called upon, to uphold the honour of the titles through transparent rulings. Only through such judicial interventions can the public be protected from the tyranny of dubious and duplicitous characters and identity fraudsters,” he said.

“In such situations, the judiciary has a bounding duty to protect society’s value system. This is one of the obligations of an impartial judiciary in a democracy.

“However, when the fairness of the judiciary is not assured, and the transparency of judiciary operatives is uncertain, the rule of law will come under severe threat. Once ordinary people lose faith in the fairness of the judiciary, the rule of law is threatened.

“With it, faith in democracy comes under threat as well. A society is endangered when the rule of the powerful and the rule of the rich and the mighty replaces the rule of law. When that happens, justice becomes a commodity to be traded between the rich and powerful and a cult of corrupt judiciary operatives,” he added. 

Following a lengthy ruling by the Court of Appeal’s presidential election tribunal, both Mr Obi and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, found their petitions dismissed, with the tribunal citing a lack of merit and inability to substantiate their claims. This verdict marked a significant setback for opposition politicians who had set their sights on unseating President Bola Tinubu from the Aso Rock Villa.

The presidential hopefuls have now shifted their attention from contesting the results of the election to calls for a possible disqualification of Mr Tinubu and subsequent rerun as new evidence of certificate forgery and identity misrepresentation now stands before the nation’s highest court. The decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of this evidence now looms on the horizon, poised to determine the course of Nigeria’s political future.Like many other political observers, Mr Obi’s position alludes to the fact that Nigeria’s judiciary and its perceived untoward politicisation make it impossible for appellants before it to have enough confidence in its impartiality and ability to deliver a justifiable verdict.