Courts shouldn’t be determining election outcomes – Obasanjo

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

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By Christopher Ameh

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concern over the growing role of the judiciary in determining election outcomes in Nigeria, saying it undermines the essence of democracy when the votes of millions are ultimately decided by a handful of judges.

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Obasanjo spoke on Tuesday as chairman of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) Democracy Dialogue at the Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre, Bauchi.

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The dialogue, with the theme, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and Judiciary Save African Democracy?”, brought together political leaders, statesmen, scholars and democracy advocates from Nigeria and other African countries.

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Obasanjo questioned whether it was democratic for millions of citizens to cast their votes only for a few judges to determine the outcome.

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“If millions of people have voted and five people would form a decision either in favour or against the decision of millions of people, is that democracy?” he queried.

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He also questioned the independence of the judiciary, asking whether it remained truly independent or was being influenced by the government.

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The former president said the situation raised fundamental questions about the state of democracy in Nigeria and Africa, noting that democracy must ultimately deliver good governance and improve the living conditions of citizens.

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He said democracy should guarantee welfare and wellbeing, inclusiveness, equality, a sense of belonging, protection of lives and property, and an end to marginalisation and discrimination.

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“Democracy that works must deliver the dividends of democracy,” he added.

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Obasanjo also questioned the effectiveness of political parties in sustaining democracy, asking, “Can the political parties deliver, or are they delivering? These are the questions the dialogue needs to answer.”

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