Elections: Courts overriding voters’ choice, says ex-NBA president

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The immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe (SAN), has said Nigerian courts have gradually usurped the statutory power of citizens to determine their elected representatives through controversial legal technicalities.

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Osigwe also said politicians now rely on election tribunals to determine electoral victories rather than voters.

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He spoke in Enugu on Thursday at the 22nd Nigeria Guild of Editors Conference.

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He criticised the judicialisation of the electoral process, warning that democracy was being undermined by procedural bottlenecks and corruption.

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He said, “A judge once presented a paper called ‘The Judicialisation of the Electoral Process.’ He argued that because of the difficulty of proving non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the courts have gradually and increasingly usurped the role of the voters. I couldn’t agree more.”

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Osigwe said Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of election petitions globally, contrasting the slow judicial machinery with the US Supreme Court, which halted Donald Trump’s postal voting attempt within days.

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Citing Chinua Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria, he blamed leadership failure across society.

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He said declining voter turnout stemmed from Nigerians believing that their votes did not count.

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“They believe that between polling units and collation centres, especially at night—miracles happen before daybreak. So why vote?” he asked.

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He said politicians exploited this by bribing voters with money, salt and rice, and recruiting thugs.

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Osigwe condemned state electoral commissions, saying ruling parties always won 100 per cent.

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“Sometimes you’ll be waiting for ballot papers, and results are already announced,” he said.

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He said the courts had destroyed the innovations introduced through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

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“The court held that the BVAS machine itself is the primary evidence, not the printout. So you must physically carry the BVAS from every polling unit to court within strict time limits,” he said.

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He said the “go to court” culture had damaged the judiciary’s image, with some judges caught collecting bribes. He said pre-election matters should not be justiciable.

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“We gained independence 64 years ago. We keep making excuses, and we only end up making many lawyers wealthy and corrupt judges richer,” he said.

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He warned that the legal system must reform or voters would abandon democracy to the courts.

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