Law teacher, rights lawyer and one-time Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has called for a radical change in Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence, insisting on the inclusion of voters who are the real stakeholders in post-election legal proceedings.
Odinkalu spoke at the private book reading of his new book — The Selectorate, When Judges Topple The People —in Abuja at the weekend.
Condemning the current legal framework, which limits the right to challenge election outcomes solely to political parties and candidates, he argued that this disenfranchises the very people whose votes are at stake.
“Our votes are not negotiable. 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, an incisive critique of judicial interference in democratic processes, accuses the judiciary of complicity in subverting the will of the people through questionable election rulings.
Odinkalu maintains that a small circle of judges cannot be allowed to determine electoral outcomes without accountability to the citizens affected by their decisions.
“I feel violated as a citizen when judges determine my vote, and I’m told to just accept it. 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”, he said.
He further likened the exclusion of citizens in election petition cases to the fate of local governments in constitutional disputes. “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.”
The law teacher then called for a national re-evaluation of the limits of citizen participation in Nigeria’s democratic process. “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.”
He urged Nigerians to build a political movement that places citizens at the centre 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.”
According to Chidi Odinkalu, if democracy is to mean anything, it must be rooted in the will of the people, not the pronouncements of an elite judiciary.
Through compelling storytelling and rigorous analysis in this new book, he makes the case for reclaiming electoral legitimacy from the hands of unelected power brokers.
The Selectorate is a rallying cry for all who believe that democracy is worth defending and that it must be defended not just from politicians but from judges who wield unchecked power.
“Odinkalu’s stance on democracy is clear: the people’s will should matter most. His point about judges determining votes undermines the democratic process. Defending our votes is essential.”