Former Director-General of the Labour Party’s Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, has warned that Nigeria’s opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is trapped in a self-inflicted meltdown made worse by contradictory court rulings that threaten to deepen the country’s drift toward “one-party dictatorship,”

Osuntokun issued the stark assessment on Friday during an interview with ARISE News, as the PDP pushes ahead with its disputed national convention in Ibadan despite restraining court orders, factional fights and spiralling legal battles.

He said the biggest danger to the political system was not only the PDP’s internal fractures but a judiciary issuing conflicting orders without regard for their impact on democratic stability.

He said:“Apart from the legal validity of what they are doing, I think an individual at the level of a court judge holds the responsibility of contributing to the stability and development of society. You have to take into consideration the implication of the judgement you are giving.”

He warned that judicial contradictions were creating chaos:“You see people giving contradictory judgments, and you ask yourself: how would they? Those judges are now robots. You can’t say you are insensitive, you don’t know what is going on. Quite a number of them will be found errant in the judgements they are giving.”

Osuntokun argued that the PDP’s implosion was partly self-inflicted, but also a symptom of a broader political distortion.

He declared:“For me, it’s not the PDP. The PDP has played itself into a cocoon and is a victim of the trend towards one-party dictatorship. I expect they’ll find themselves in the kind of mess they created.”

He stressed that the more dangerous trend was not the party’s internal conflict but the judiciary’s enabling role:“What is significant is the role of the judiciary. When you give judgments whose implications are destructive… it doesn’t contribute to the development of the political party. It doesn’t help the PDP. As a judge, you should ask yourself: what would be the purpose of the judgement I’m giving?”

Osuntokun Backs Wike in Abuja Land Clash, Says Military “Extensively Violated” Constitution.

Turning to Tuesday’s viral confrontation between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and a naval officer over alleged illegal land development, Osuntokun said the minister acted “without a shade of doubt” within his authority.

He argued that the military officer’s conduct breached constitutional boundaries:
“What the naval officers did is an extensive violation of the Nigerian constitution. The role of the military is the protection of territorial integrity — not maintenance of law and order. That is the duty of the police.”

He added that even the president could not deploy forces for private purposes:
“Even the president cannot deploy the military for private purposes. It is illegal. So, you can see this extensive violation of the rule of law on the part of the so-called armed forces.”

Osuntokun said the incident reflected a lingering “military rule syndrome”:
“I was surprised. I thought Nigeria was out of the era when generals were laws unto themselves.”

Commenting on the dispute over the airing of an interview between Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar and British broadcaster Piers Morgan, Osuntokun saw no cause for alarm.

He said:“The Foreign Affairs Minister is doing his job, and Piers Morgan is doing his. The minister shouldn’t be too bothered about how he was projected. That is the job of the editor.”

Osuntokun added that the minister’s defensive posture was unnecessary:
“He will make arguments as an advocate for the government, but that does not mean they will be appreciated or deemed tenable,”he said.

Boluwatife Enome

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