Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Kanu Agabi has stated that Nigerians who doubt the integrity of elections have legitimate reasons to seek judicial redress.
Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who served as AGF under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, made these remarks during his appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program on Channels Television.
Discussing concerns about Nigeria’s electoral process, Agabi, 78, criticized politicians who manipulate their way into office and then seek divine intervention when facing socio-economic challenges. He argued that the high volume of electoral cases in court highlights the “justifiable suspicions” about the country’s elections.
He said: “We keep talking of reforming the judiciary. We keep attacking the judges, we stigmatise them, we abuse them, we insult but the truth is this: we have very good judges.
“The judiciary is not perfect but it is the best arm of government. The problem is this: On the judges’ lists, there may be 30, or 40 cases a day. How can he cope? As long as they go on struggling with that system, they cannot cope.
“The problem of the judiciary arises from the fact that the judges are overworked. To alleviate this, the government should appoint more judges and magistrates to reduce the congestion in the courts.”
Agabi emphasized that many election challenges stem from legitimate concerns about electoral integrity. He stressed that if elections were less susceptible to suspicion and criticism, it would reduce the number of cases burdening the courts.
He said: “Take the elections for instance. Do you know how many percentages of elections are challenged? Why? Because the elections come under justifiable suspicions. Those who suspect the elections are justified but if we reach a point where the elections are not opened to the kind of criticisms and suspicions that they have been suspected, then they can free up the courts.”
He also criticized the practice of rigging primaries at the party level, asserting that it undermines the legitimacy of the office holders. He compared this to a spiritual dimension, questioning whether one can truly seek divine blessing on an office obtained through dishonesty.
He added: “Primaries are rigged at the party levels. Giving a spiritual dimension, when you have stolen the office that you are holding, do you expect God to partner with you? Can you pray over that office? Can you use it to do any good? That’s the problem.”
Agabi cited St. Paul’s declaration of his apostleship by the grace of God as an example, urging office holders to be able to say they are in their positions by divine grace. He lamented that, despite moving away from colonialism, current leaders seem to be regressing, driven by materialistic pursuits rather than genuine service.
“St Paul said I am an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the grace of God. Whatever office you hold, you must be able to say the same thing. You must be able to say, ‘I am a governor by the grace of God’, ‘I am a senator by the grace of God’. If you can’t say that, your prayer in calling upon the name of the Lord in that office is an abomination. We are coming from colonialism but our leaders are taking us back for the love of more houses, more wives and more money,” he concluded.
