The inexhaustible commitment of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party HE Peter Obi to retrieve the stolen mandate given to him by Nigerians is borne out of his solemn promise to the people that he will defend every single vote they gave him on February 25th 2023. So far, he has done laudably with his legal team at the Presidential Election Tribunal. Before the election, the self-aclaimed owners of Nigeria dismissed Obi as a joker, but post-February 25th, Obi has remained their worst nightmare.

Cynical voices have risen of recent, both from secular and ecclesiastical quarters to blackmail Peter Obi to give up on his fight to retrieve the people’s stolen mandate. Some have even argued, albeit mischievously, that if the illegitimate holder of the mandate is already implementing some policies that Obi promised, it will be prudent to let sleeping dogs lie! But who gives up on the effort to retrieve what has been stolen from him just because the thief has promised to take care of the stolen item as the owner would have done?

As the Nigerian judiciary handle the greatest challenge in its history of election petition adjudications, may their Lordships never forget that the case before them is not about “Peter Obi vs the respondents”. It is millions of Nigerians who are badly hurt and who trooped out en masse to cast their hope and the future of their children on Peter Obi, only to have that hope stolen, that we talk about. To these suffering Nigerians and posterity do their Lordships owe a huge Debt of Justice.