The Presidential Election Petition Court’s registry statutorily opens for business one week to the poll.
Ahead of Nigeria’s presidential election this Saturday, 25 February, the Presidential Election Petition Court registry has opened in Abuja, the country’s capital.
There are 18 presidential candidates jostling for Nigeria’s presidency at the poll.
It is a statutory responsibility of the Court of Appeal, which coordinates post-election litigations, to set up the tribunals and open them for business ahead of elections.
Section 285 of the Nigerian constitution and Section 130 of the Electoral Act states that the Election Petition Tribunal shall be constituted not later than 30 days before the election and open its registry for business seven days before the election.
The Court of Appeal also serves as the Presidential Election Petition Court, will be subject to appeal to the Supreme Court.
PREMIUM TIMES’ check at the headquarters of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, showed that the registry of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has opened for business.
The interim secretary of the presidential election court, Adamu Mohammed, told this reporter on Thursday that “the registry opened for business in line with the law last Saturday, 18 February.”
Mr Adamu explained that the registry’s core business is to write to security agencies and media organisations intimating them of its establishment.
“At the moment, we write to media houses and security agencies while we await the elections to take place and for petitions to be filed, before the panels can sit on them,” Mr Mohammed said.
He also revealed that election petition tribunals have opened their registries across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
While the presidential and National Assembly elections are billed for this Saturday, the governorship and state parliamentary polls are scheduled for 11 March.
Deluge of pre-election cases
Nigerian courts have witnessed a torrent of pre-election disputes from the Federal High Court through the Court of Appeal and terminating at the Supreme Court.
Since the conduct of primary elections by political parties around May last year to field candidates for elective offences, the courts have been grappling with a deluge of cases owing to the fact that they are time-bound.
The law provides that pre-election suits must be determined within 180 days from the time of filing.
As of December, 2022, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, disclosed that with 1,838 pre-election cases filed ahead of next year’s general elections, 77 judges of the court were scampering to beat the statutory 180-day deadline for hearing and concluding pre-election matters.
The situation is similar at the Court of Appeal where the President, Monica Dongban-Mensem, disclosed recently that the court was adjudicating on 600 pre-election suits with less than 100 judges.
At the Supreme Court with a depleted 13 justices, there are over 120 of pre-election cases that journeyed from the trial court and the Court of Appeal, Femi Falana, a constitutional lawyer told PREMIUM TIMES.
Last November, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, decried the litigious nature of Nigerians.
“In every little disagreement, we rush to court; and in every lost case, we rush to appeal even up to the Supreme Court, no matter how little the issue might be. That has obviously accounted for the several appeals pending in the Supreme Court,” Mr Ariwoola said, urging Nigerians to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
Political analysts are of the view that this presidential election remains one of the most fiercely contested polls in Nigeria’s democratic history.
The four leading presidential standard-bearers – Atiku Abubakar (PDP), Peter Obi (LP), Bola Tinubu (APC) and Rabi’u Kwankwaso (NNPP), hail from four out of six geopolitical zones of the country.
The outcome of Saturday’s presidential election will most likely end up at the court and terminate at the Supreme Court.
PREMIUM TIMES
