Atedo Peterside Slams Nigerian Judiciary, Labels it ‘Woefully Failed’ on Electoral Reform

The founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and Anap Foundation, Atedo Peterside, has launched a fierce critique against Nigeria’s judiciary, accusing it of having “failed woefully” in its critical role concerning electoral reform.

Peterside made the accusation on Monday during an interview on the Channels Television program, Politics Today. He contended that the judiciary has not lived up to the standards required to uphold electoral integrity and strongly backed the idea of a comprehensive electoral reform that would shift the burden of proof to the electoral umpire, INEC.

Dependable NG reports that the prominent businessman expressed his full agreement with Senator Dickson’s advocacy for amending the Electoral Act to address this issue. He argued that the current system is fundamentally unjust.

“See, this is where our judiciary has not lived up to the required standards. it has failed woefully. I agree with Senator Dickson that the burden of proof should shift to INEC,” Peterside stated. He elaborated on the absurdity of the current legal posture, saying, “You can’t allow a situation where INEC can do anything, bring out rubbish results, mutilated and everything, and then argue that it’s for the victim to prove that what they’ve done is wrong, when even a blind man can see that what they’ve done is wrong.”

The founder of Anap Foundation warned that the majority of Nigerians have lost confidence in both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary. He issued a grave warning that if immediate action is not taken to restore trust in the system, citizens might resort to “self-help” in future elections.