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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke
Odinkalu Demands Voter Inclusion in Post-Election Court Cases, Says —“Our Votes Are Not Negotiable”
TEC News | 7th July, 2025.
Prominent human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has issued a powerful call for a radical overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral legal system, insisting that voters—the real stakeholders in any election—must be given a voice in post-election court proceedings.
Speaking in Abuja at the public presentation of his new book When Judges Topple the People, Prof. Odinkalu strongly criticized the prevailing legal framework which restricts the right to challenge election outcomes to only political parties and their candidates. According to him, this practice effectively disenfranchises the very citizens whose votes are being contested.
“Our votes are not negotiable,” Odinkalu declared passionately. “If it’s about our votes, then the people—ordinary citizens—should have a legal right to participate in the election petition process. You cannot exclude the electorate and say it’s only the candidates and parties that matter in court. We are the ones who queued to vote.”
The book presents a hard-hitting critique of what Odinkalu describes as judicial intrusion into the democratic space, accusing the judiciary of playing a complicit role in undermining the people’s will through questionable rulings on election disputes.
“I feel violated as a citizen when judges determine my vote and I’m told to just accept it,” he stated. “Lawyers like myself will tell you, ‘the Supreme Court has spoken’, but the Supreme Court doesn’t vote. The people do. Supreme Court judges don’t vote—so defend your votes.”
Prof. Odinkalu went on to draw a sharp comparison between voter exclusion in election petitions and the sidelining of local governments in constitutional matters involving federal and state governments.
“In cases of local government autonomy, the Federal and State governments argue, but local governments—the real victims—are not even invited. The same thing happens with voters during election disputes.”
He urged Nigerians to rethink and challenge the limits placed on citizen participation in the country’s democratic process. Even if citizens cannot be direct parties to election petitions, Odinkalu believes their physical presence and political voice in courtrooms would send a strong signal.
“We don’t have to win the case. But if the people show up at the courts en masse, even without being parties to the case, it sends a powerful political signal. We must organize, protest, and insist on our right to defend our votes.”
Prof. Odinkalu concluded by advocating for a broader civic movement that places citizens at the heart of electoral justice.
“Victory doesn’t have to be judicial; sometimes, it must be political. We need to put ourselves in the conversation not just as voters on election day, but as defenders of democracy every day after.”
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