The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on Monday warned politicians, lawyers, public officials and social media users against turning the courtroom into “an extension of the political arena”.
The CJN spoke at the inauguration of judges nominated for the 2027 Election Petition Tribunals in Abuja.
She said political parties, candidates and supporters must recognise that “the judicial process is not a continuation of the electoral campaign by other means.”
She said lawful orders must be complied with and they must also refrain from actions calculated to intimidate judicial officers.
She said public opinion and a candidate’s popularity “cannot be substituted for legal proof”, insisting that disputes must be decided on pleadings, evidence and law.
She urged public officials and influential figures to refrain from commenting on pending matters, warning that attempts to prejudge outcomes can create unnecessary tension.
On social media, she said citizens may express their views, but unverified allegations, selective accounts of proceedings and online campaigns against judicial officers distort public understanding.
“Misinformation, intimidation and attempts to prejudice pending proceedings have no place in a society governed by the rule of law,” she said, urging the media to exercise care as well.
The CJN condemned the filing of multiple actions or appeals on the same subject matter, the pursuit of conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction, and the use of ex parte applications to gain tactical advantage.
Such practices, she said, “can bring the administration of justice into disrepute.” Counsel, she added, must resist the temptation to make the judicial process “another instrument of political contest.”
The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, disclosed that 375 judicial officers have been nominated to serve on the tribunals. Of these, 138 are returning members with previous tribunal experience, while 237 are newly nominated.
In her welcome address, Justice Dongban-Mensem urged tribunal members to resist “every attempt at improper influence, whether through political pressure, inducement, intimidation, personal relationships or other considerations extraneous to the administration of justice.”
No individual, “however highly placed”, she said, should be allowed to compromise the independence of their courts.
She said the nominations followed consultations with Heads of Courts and the NBA, and described the appointment as “a call to service, not privilege.”
On case management, she directed that unnecessary adjournments be discouraged, with applications weighed against the interests of justice and statutory timelines. “Expedition must never undermine fairness,” she said, “just as procedural indulgence must not frustrate timely adjudication.”
She noted that tribunal decisions may be appealed to the Court of Appeal and, eventually, the Supreme Court, making the quality of adjudication at the tribunal level fundamental.
The Court of Appeal, she said, has developed a centralised Case Management System for scanning, uploading and storing judicial decisions.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to issue a code of conduct for lawyers handling election cases.
Delivering his goodwill message at the event, the AGF described the Electoral Act 2026 as introducing far-reaching reforms that recalibrate the electoral framework ahead of the polls, adding that their impact will depend on enforcement by INEC, compliance by parties and judicial interpretation.
He told the judges to remain free from intimidation, inducement or extraneous considerations, warning that an erroneous decision “may take another four years to correct.”
He also suggested multiple tribunal panels in jurisdictions with high petition volumes, particularly for legislative elections, and urged careful selection of Court Registrars, saying an inexperienced registrar can hamper proceedings “however competent the panel may be.”
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, warned that AI-generated deepfakes and disputes over electronic result transmission could threaten political stability.
He described the tribunals as “the constitutional valve that releases political pressure and prevents electoral friction from devolving into civil disruption.”
He singled out Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, which deals with electronic transmission of polling-unit results and the legal effect of communication failures, saying its interpretation “may feature prominently in future petitions.”
He warned of three digital threats: AI-generated messages impersonating officials to announce false polling unit relocations, deepfakes released during the pre-election broadcast blackout, and cloned videos of Returning Officers falsely declaring results.
Genuine evidence could also be dismissed as fake, a phenomenon he called the “Liar’s Dividend.” He urged tribunals to insist on digital provenance and forensic chain of custody under Section 84 of the Evidence Act.
He added that engagement between INEC and the judiciary “is not an avenue to influence judicial decisions or discuss the merits of pending proceedings.”
Credit: Leadership