Mary Odili, a retired Supreme Court justice, has cautioned politicians and their followers against stoking racism, prejudice, and tribalism.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Odili made this claim over the weekend during a colloquium held in Abuja to commemorate Joe Gadzama’s 25th year as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The ex-governor of Rivers State’s wife claimed that there appeared to be a political conspiracy to use judicial blackmail to destabilise the country or start a conflagration.
Don’t Blackmail Judges, Losers Should Accept Defeat – Former SC Justice, Mary Odili
She said: “I say so in the light of the prevailing situation in Nigeria as a result of the 2023 general elections, which has generated a lot of storms, necessitating the conversation which we are about to indulge in, as there seems to be moves to throw the nation into chaos or conflagration.
“This may be brought about by some individuals and groups who, fanning the embers of hatred, bigotry, and tribalism, fail to see the possible outcomes of the utterances without caution that are being thrown around.
“It is human to feel cheated or have the short end of the stick by one who is not declared the winner at any of the electoral contests. Such emotion, however grim, does not justify bringing the roof down, the roof of our nation.
“The reason is simple, that in such an eventuality, that aggrieved person may not be spared, as the commotion that could ensue would be like an unguided missile which could land anywhere and upon anyone.
See What Jonathan Said About Justice Mary Odili’s Retirement From Supreme Court
“Therefore, in ventilating our points of view and facts at the electoral tribunals or other courts, a sense of responsibility from all parties is demanded.
“The situation does not call for the blackmail of the judges or the posting of speculatory hypothesis, giving them such a life of their own which runs riot and is accepted by the hapless and innocent in the society as the truth.”
In addition, she referred to Wole Olanipekun, President Bola Tinubu’s attorney at the electoral tribunal, and Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as “master” and “expert” in the legal field.
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