Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over the growing role of courts in determining election outcomes in Nigeria, warning that the country’s democracy is in danger if voters no longer decide their leaders at the ballot box.
In a statement released Thursday, Atiku stressed the urgent need to reform both the electoral and judicial systems to restore public confidence and protect democratic integrity.
While welcoming increased participation in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration, Atiku expressed concern over historically low voter turnout, citing that only 24.9 million of the 93.47 million registered voters took part in the 2023 general elections the lowest participation since 1999.
He called for mandatory use of technology such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic result transmission, and proposed eliminating manual collation of results.
According to him, only results uploaded to INEC’s official portal should be used for final counts.
Atiku also urged a complete overhaul of how INEC leadership is appointed, advocating for a more democratic and independent process, rather than presidential nominations.
He further recommended shifting the burden of proof in election disputes to INEC, requiring the commission to prove it followed the law, rather than placing that responsibility on the petitioner.
Referencing legal expert Prof. Chidi Odinkalu’s book The Selectorate: When Judges Topple the People, Atiku warned of the long-term damage caused by judicial interference in electoral outcomes.
He reiterated his stance that leadership decisions must be made by the electorate not by judges behind closed doors.
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