“if there is a procedure for doing a thing and the procedure is deviated, the end result should be vitiated”_ Aondoakaa
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation of Nigeria, Michael Aondoakaa, spoke on the alleged dual citizenship of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Aondoakaa spoke on multiple issues including President-Elect dual citizenship, Presidential election tribunal, morality question in elections, et cetera.
When questioned about the issue of public morality and the people’s cry of selective justice, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that though it is valid, it cannot hold water in court at the time.
“The issue of morality comes in but morality is not law. Evidence is needed.”
Aondaoakaa offered opinion on how cases and petitions involving electoral issues should be handled and how they should be examined in court proceedings.
The SAN advised attorneys to examine cases from the perspective of the methods that led to the final outcomes rather than just the results, as this might make or break their claims.
“We as lawyers go to court to challenge the outcome of who has the majority. We never furiously attack the procedure. This is the time we should build a solid foundation in this country; look at what made it change from what it initially was.”
He said that parts of plainly stated rules that have been declared as law by the judiciary might be taken up and potentially invalidate outcomes if they are not followed.
He brought up the Adamawa 2023 electoral dispute, in which the REC disregarded official instructions and exercised unilateral declaration without authority before being overruled for procedural perversion.
The former AGF pleaded with attorneys to go further into procedural issues since only those may really render elections invalid in the view of the Supreme Court.
“The supreme court has said in several courses that if there is a procedure for doing a thing and the procedure is deviated, the end result should be vitiated.”
