S/Court judgement: Speak to your conscience over Nasarawa Guber’ship judgement — protesting women tell Panel **advise against Succumbing to pressure

By David Okpashi

AHEAD of Tuesday hearing and subsequent supreme court judgement on the Nasarawa Guber’ship case , protesting women for justice in Nasarawa state have appealed to the Supreme Court Justices assigned to preside on the Nasarawa Guber case to speak to their conscience while deciding the fate of the state.

The protesting women also begged the justices not to Succumb to pressure by those who believed in acquiring or purchasing powers rather than earning the people’s mandate.

The women who embarked on a peaceful protest to demand for justice in Nasarawa state ahead of the hearing and judgement said as mothers who have denied themselves of all comfort to seek justice in Nasarawa state over the March 18, 2023 governorship election, decided to remind the assigned jurists to deliver judgement with the fear of the Almighty creator.

“We mothers are on the street of Lafia to remind our justices that it has been done in Kano and other states, , Nasarawa should not be an exception. Justice are not only delivered on earth, so we should be conscious of the judgement on our last day on earth”.

“As confidence we’re build last week in other governorship, we wish to appeal that such confidence be extended to Nasarawa state inspite of the mounting pressure from those who have forgotten that power is given and not bught or seized”.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the peaceful protest, leaders of the justice and peace group, Mrs Hanatu John said the protest was in continuation of the agitation for justice since March 18 when the governorship election result was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the leader of the group, “we believed that justice would be delivered in the governorship dispute of Nasarawa State considering the heart warming and courageous judgments in the cases of Kano and other states last week”.

“We are appealing to judges not to succumb to pressure by anybody, because doing so will destroy the name and reputation you people build for yourselves over the years,” she added.

She however lauded the judges over their landmark judgments in Kano, Plateau and other states and admonished the jurists to apply the same principle in Nasarawa State.

On her part, one of the leadership of the group, Jemilatu Hussaini observed that the Supreme Court judgement has moved the country many years ahead in terms of peace unity as well as reducing the growing insecurity adding that Nasarawa state should be part of that peace, unity institutionalized by the recent judgments that has equally proven that judiciary remained the hope of a common man.

“The court should review the BVAS records of Gayam and Ciroma Electoral Wards of Lafia Local Government Area and other places where rigging was alleged to have taken place during the March 18 election before passing their judgment.

“Doing so will ensure that justice is properly ensued and would also restore the confidence of the people in the electoral process,” she added.

“We are trusting God that the justice will be served to the people of Nasarawa as done in other states. We are confident that the judges will place the unity, peace and the general interest of the citizenry above individual interest”.

It would be recalled that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) David Emmanuel Ombugadu, had challenged and won at the tribunal as winner of the March 18 governorship election.