Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has welcomed the decision of the Court of Appeal to stay the execution of a Federal High Court judgment seeking the deregistration of the party and four others.
In a statement on Tuesday, Atiku said it was significant that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) initiated the application for the stay of execution.
The former vice-president said recent developments in the judiciary had attracted public scrutiny.
His words: “The disturbing spectacle of judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings playing out in our courts has placed the judiciary under intense public scrutiny.
“As ADC National Chairman, Sen. David Mark, rightly observed, the judiciary itself is now on trial. Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic.
“If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.”
The former vice president, however, urged the Nigerian judiciary to uphold constitutional principles and the rule of law.
“The judiciary still has an opportunity to redeem itself by standing firmly on the side of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the Nigerian people,” he said.
