Lawyers yesterday condemned the postponement of the general elections, saying the service chiefs have failed Nigeria.

According to them, there is more to the postponement than meets the eye because the battle against insurgency, which has not been won in six years, cannot be won in six weeks.

The lawyers warned against actions that could result in a constitutional crisis even if the law makes room for a postponement.

Those who spoke include Prof Itsay Sagay (SAN), former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Dr Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), Dr Joseph Nwobike (SAN) and Mr George Oguntade (SAN).

Others are a professor of law at the Nigerian Institute of advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Lanre Fagbohun, Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN) and activist-lawyer Festus Keyamo.

Sagay said INEC exhibited its lack of independence and bowed to the rule of force in postponing the general elections.

‘‘Is it within the next two months that they want to quell Boko Haram that they have been unable to do these past years? This action will demoralise voters, create more expenses.

“It just means that INEC has been influenced and no longer independent. Prof. Jega never said anything about postponement until the NSA did and was later joined by all the operatives of the PDP.

‘‘So it is correct to say that INEC has collapsed under pressure. Everyone took the postponement rumour for granted until PDP loyalists started raising dust about it.

“This shows there is lack of independence and it will affect everyone’s disposition on the outcome of the election when it is eventually held since INEC can be pressurised into changing its mind,’’ said Sagay.

Akeredolu said with the polls shift, INEC has confirmed that it is castrates in the present arrangement where it depends on the Federal Government for everything.

“The Federal Government shenanigans in arriving at the ultimate postponement of the elections must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerian.

“What we have witnessed is ‘government magic’. They have just turned green to blue and electric to candle (apology to Fela),” he said.

Oguntade said the decision appears to be a volte face on the part of INEC which, aware of the security situation for some time, had always maintained that the elections would proceed as scheduled.

“What major calamity has therefore happened of late to warrant this sudden u-turn a week to the elections?

“Furthermore, the security challenge that has been provided as an excuse for the postponement has been going on for the past five years or so. What is the likelihood that in six weeks time, the security situation will be different from what it is today?

“Again, what exactly is the numerical strength of the Nigerian Army and security agencies in Nigeria, such that they cannot continue their military activities in the North as well as provide necessary cover for the elections?

“Is it that Nigerian Army is so weak and decimated that it cannot face offensives on the different fronts simultaneously? There are endless questions to be asked,” Oguntade said.

Ajibade believes the Federal Government is playing a dangerous game that could precipitate a serious constitutional crisis.

To him, it is not expected that INEC’s decision should be compelled by advice received from agencies of the government in power.

“This derogates from the supposed independence of INEC and leaves it at the mercy of the government of the day.

“There is no reason to believe that the reasons adduced for compelling this postponement, viz. the security situation in the Northeast of the country and a consequent shortage of military personnel will abate in six seeks, so what then?  A permanent postponement until the security situation abates?

To Ngige, INEC has shown Nigeria to be a “never-ready country of unserious people where anything goes.”

Keyamo described the postponement as the ruling party imposing its will on the umpire.

“What started as a joke when the NSA flew the election postponement kite in London has become an ugly reality. The implication of this is that Nigerians should be vigilant from now on,” he added.

Other lawyers said INEC was almost helpless and could not have gone ahead with the elections without security backing.

Nwobike said: “In this instance, INEC has, through its chairman, adduced some reasons for postponing the election. Whether or not those reasons are compelling and verifiable cannot be questioned by public opinion.

“What we should all do is to continue to have confidence in INEC and the electoral process.  In doing so, it behoves the political class and the political parties to manage the information that they feed their followers and members.

Prof Fagbohun believes INEC should be given the benefit of the doubt. “The reason why this particular shift of date has become contentious and of concern to Nigerians is that there is suspicion of political meddling and interference in this latest decision of INEC,” he said, adding:

“The responsibility of the Commission is to protect the suffrage rights of the people. To a very large extent and as far as humanly possible, INEC, in my view, has maintained a decent arm’s-length relationship with the administration.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs Funke Adekoya, said the excuse that the military will be engaged in special operations for six weeks and so cannot guarantee security during the polls is not tenable.

She said the army’s role is to protect Nigeria against external aggression, while the police focus on enforcing civil obedience, including during elections.

She said: “Two issues concern me; firstly is the military’s first function to provide internal security in the country. Their first function is to protect us from external aggression.

“What happened to the Nigeria Police Force whose main role is to provide internal security? The military is to provide internal back-up; they are not the main actors.

“Secondly, if in six weeks time the military say they are still engaged with Boko Horam what happens to our elections?”