Datti: Tinubu Can’t Be Unseated Through Courts Alone

 

Former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has declared that any move to defeat President Bola Tinubu must go beyond legal battles, insisting that the courts cannot remedy what he described as constitutional violations that occurred during the 2023 elections.

Speaking in an interview on Nigeria Right Now, a programme aired on YouTube, Baba-Ahmed said he had warned the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against placing absolute faith in the judiciary to overturn the election outcome.

According to him, the All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly breached the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution during the poll, particularly Section 134(2b), yet the courts failed to address the matter.

“I told Peter Obi that the Supreme Court cannot give you a governorship and at the same time hand you the presidency. For God’s sake, stand up and do something. The Nigerian Constitution was clearly breached,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed argued that political actors in other climes defend their interests vigorously rather than relying solely on judicial processes.

“If it were the June 12 generation and you breached even one punctuation mark against their interest, nobody would sleep. They would resist it with everything they have. They organise rallies and sustain them for decades, yet we keep saying, ‘Let’s go to court’,” he stated.

The former senator maintained that whoever seeks to unseat Tinubu must be ready for what he termed “red-eye resistance,” stressing that those who manipulate election results are criminals while citizens who oppose such actions are patriots.

“On the day fake results are being declared, the people doing it are criminals, and those stopping them are good citizens. Whoever wants to defeat Tinubu must show red eyes. There is no going to court,” he added.

Obi had challenged Tinubu’s victory up to the Supreme Court after the 2023 election but lost at all levels. Baba-Ahmed cited the 2003 Anambra governorship dispute, where Obi eventually reclaimed his mandate in 2006, noting that the present situation required more than litigation.

His remarks have reignited debate on the role of the judiciary in electoral disputes and the growing frustration among opposition figures over perceived limitations ofprocess. al process.