Constitutional expert – Continuous intervention of court in electoral process leads to voter apathy

Professor Sambo Abdulfatai, an expert in constitutional law and justice, has said the continuous intervention of the court in the country’s electoral process has led to voter apathy.

According to him, the practice, though it has some advantages, places grave risk and burden on the electoral process.

Speaking at a public function held in Ilọrin, the Kwara State capital, on Monday, he noted that the intervention of the court electoral process has prevented abuse of political offices and brought about constitutional sanctity and stability in Nigeria’s democratic system.

He lamented that in spite of all the advantages, the development is very risky.

The constitutional expert believed that it might cause a judicial error, financial inducement/bribery, unnecessary and avoidable burden on the judiciary in terms of the number of cases that will appear before the court, saying that the judiciary is not trained in the art of politics.

He stated that the Supreme Court is yet to determine the case of the governorship tussle in Kano State, pointing out that the apex court has been trying to consider the pros and cons or risk that will happen either way.

He said, “This development will lead to voter apathy; politicians will believe they don’t need commitment to democratic principles to win an election or give dividends of democracy to the people but prefer to bribe the judges. At the end of the day, the citizens will not have anything to do with politics again.”

Sambo added that while there are a lot of advantages, implications and merits to continuous judicial intervention, if not well managed, the associated risks are enormous.