Election petition tribunal promises fairness, warns against public analysis of proceedings

Chidi Samuel|

The President of the Court of Appeal and head of the five-man presidential election tribunal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa on Wednesday assured that the tribunal will be fair to all litigants.

Bulkachuwa who made the pledge while speaking at its inaugural sitting, held at the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal, however warned that the tribunal would not accept public analysis of its proccedings.

Justice Bulkachuwa said, “We assure all stakeholders that each litigant will be given equal opportunity to present his case in a mature manner before us.

“As we gather in this honourable courtroom today, I wish to use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, that the Court of Appeal will work in accordance and within the dictates of the Constitution, the law and international best practices, to dispense justices to all, without fear or favour, affection or ill will.”

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Bulkachuwa who lamented the practise of analysing court proceedings on social media and making a verdict while the court has not made a pronouncement, warned against such breaches.

She therefore, warned parties, lawyers, public commentators and journalists not to engage in public discourse of the proceedings until the tribunal makes its judgement.

She said, “Any breach will not be condoned and we will not hesitate in taking necessary action against such offenders.”

“We assure all stakeholders that each litigant will be given equal opportunity to present his case in a mature manner before us.

“We are witnesses to what has been happening in high-profile cases where such cases are being discussed and publicly decided prematurely in both the social and electronic media before the announcement of the verdict by the court.

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“We pray that this time would be an exception for the benefit of the nation. We don’t expect counsel to any of the parties to hype the polity after any sitting by making a public analysis in the media as to what transpired in court.”

“These proceedings should be treated as would any other low-profile case, where proceedings in court are not discussed publicly until a decision is pronounced by the court,” Bulkachuwa said.

“This admonition is also extended to the parties, their respective counsel and the members of the press.

“We, on our own part, will make relevant information available as and when due.”

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