PEPC judgment: Catholic Bishops urge Supreme Court not to bend the law

PEPC judgment: Catholic Bishops urge Supreme Court not to bend the law

Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has asked the Supreme Court not to seek to satisfy the whims and caprices of any political party nor bend the law when the appeals of candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), are brought before it.

The Bishops also gave hard knocks to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) for ruling that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not mandated to transmit election results electronically after billions of Naira were spent on Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) and Result Viewing Portal (ReV).

The body of Bishops who spoke on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the 2023 second plenary assembly of the CBCN.

Specifically, the president of CBCN, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, prayed for a day to come when all election results will be finally decided at the polling units and not at the Court.

He said despite the reassurances by the INEC to deliver credible general elections in 2023, the elections fell short of the people’s legitimate expectations as well as moral and legal standards.

The CBCN President noted that the confidence of citizens in the 2023 electoral process was eroded by the many pitfalls and irregularities evident before, during and after the elections.

Shortly after the ruling of the PEPC, the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and other parties served intent to challenge the outcome of the 2023 general election at the Supreme Court.