A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Dr. Muiz Banire has commended Yoruba self-determination activists for exploring a legal option to their claim that the 1999 Constitution is faulty, saying this is better than violence.
Banire was referring to suits by the leader of a self-determination group, Ilana Omo Oodua worldwide, Prof Banji Akintoye and 16 others against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The suits, at Federal High Courts in Ado-Ekiti and Osogbo, seek to stop the 2022 Ekiti and Osun states governorship polls, claiming that the Constitution does not meet the requirements to make it a valid law.
Banire spoke after delivering his public lecture titled “The Nigerian state structure and the 2023 elections” organised by the College of Management and Social Sciences, Fountain University, Osogbo.
He maintained “It is good that the Yoruba nation agitators filed a suit against the faulty constitution. At least they have made a point with their action. If it is not successful at the end of the day, it will send a signal. The system must be challenged over the constitution. We have not been doing that in Nigeria. It is the best instead of violence.
“The Constitution is faulty, it is not perfect at all and can’t address the challenges that we are facing in the country presently.”
During his lecture, he faulted the leadership recruitment process to power in Nigeria and called on Nigerians, especially the elite as a matter of urgency, to find a solution before the 2023 general elections.