‘Presidential Tribunal Judgement, Rape Of Democracy’

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina State has criticised the judgement of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) and other related verdicts issued by the state election tribunals as a rape of democracy.

The former national secretary of the party and chairman Atiku/Lado campaign committee, Senator Ibrahim Umar Tsauri, asserted this during a press conference organised at the party secretariat, yesterday.

He said, “We stand to say that the judgment passed by the PEPC has been far away from justice. We would say that what INEC did during the elections is exactly what the PEPC did to Nigeria, Nigerians and the democratic process.”

He noted that the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Yakubu Mammud told Nigerians that the commission would use the BVAS machines to make the elections accurate, free, fair and credible.

He said the party believed in the INEC boss and became relaxed with full confidence and optimism in him as a man of integrity, but unfortunately did otherwise and deceived Nigeria.

The former secretary added that the PEPC also assured Nigerians that tribunals would not base their judgments on technicalities, but ended up passing judgment not only on technicalities but on collective personal interest.

“We call that judgment a rape of democracy because unpracticable precedence has been set which can and will never be sustained.

“Coming to the tribunal in Katsina State, the same patterns and plans have been in place. Every right-thinking person in Katsina State knew how the election of 25th February 2023 was conducted”, he said.

The tribunal sitting in Katsina  recently sacked two House of Representatives members and declared two other elective seats occupied by the PDP inconclusive.