Senate Majority Leader Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele has advised opposition political parties and their candidates to refrain from pressuring the judiciary with alleged disinformation, mal-information, and misinformation in partisan politics.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirming President Bola Tinubu’s election, Bamidele expressed his concerns. He, who previously chaired the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters, opposed how the opposition attempted to involve the judiciary in partisan politics, prioritizing their self-interest over the collective interests of Nigerians.
While celebrating the President’s victory, Bamidele condemned what he viewed as unjust pressure on the judiciary before the opposition parties’ and candidates’ petitions were even decided. He emphasized the judiciary’s importance as a consistent, dependable, and impartial democratic institution that stands with the oppressed.
Bamidele stated that it is both amoral and immoral for political actors or parties to subject the judiciary to media trials instead of abiding by the rule of law. He pointed out that the judiciary had not been vilified by petitioners who had previously benefited from its independence and neutrality.
The petitioners claimed to have won the 2023 presidential elections during their separate world press conferences, but when they failed to prove their cases, they resorted to blackmailing the judiciary. Bamidele noted that the decisions of the appellate and apex courts confirmed the credibility of the last elections due to the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He commended the apex court for upholding the truth despite the intimidation of judicial officers by petitioners who had pursued their self-centric political agenda at the expense of national interests.
Bamidele warned all political actors, interests, and parties to refrain from playing politics with the rule of law and the judiciary. He also cautioned against pressuring the judiciary into partisan politics, emphasizing that the Nigerian judiciary remains an impartial arbiter dedicated to dispensing justice without bias.
He stressed the importance of not tarnishing the image of the judiciary, which serves as the hope for the oppressed, and called for an end to this unacceptable practice. NAN
