Barr. Bayo Averehi has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against disobeying court order which he said is an invitation to anarchy.
Averehi, a chieftain of Labour Party (LP) in Kogi state, urged INEC to adhere strictly to the court order allowing the party’s lawyers inspect election materials used in the February presidential polls.
In a statement sent to journalists in Lokoja on Monday, Averehi said the electoral umpire is supposed to be unbiased and must be compelled to obey court orders to avert chaos in the country.
He added that it is preposterous for any individual, institution or organization to cherry-pick which court order to obey and not to obey.
Averehi, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Kogi state, explained that INEC was established by the laws of the country and must be subjected to the supremacy of the court of the land.
“‘Existence in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’ (Thomas Hobbes -Leviathan 1966). This informs the importance of lawful government and institutions in a sane society. The youth and masses of this country believe in the Rule of Law and are also of the believe that the Judiciary is the last hope of the common man, as such did not resort to self help after the unprecedented and monumental disappointment gotten from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a result of the alleged election malpractices and massive rigging recorded in the just concluded Presidential election
but have decided to approach the court to seek justice.
“Anarchy is triggered when institutions established by law disregards the rule of law and ostentatiously disobey Court orders and rulings, like the INEC is presently doing in the extant case where the court has granted the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, an order to inspect the electoral materials used for the just concluded presidential election. But INEC has bluntly refused to obey the order of the court, rather it decided to go ahead with the second order of the court to reconfigure the BVAS machine,” he said.
