The Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC), which began sitting last week, has not dampened the high expectations of the public despite starting late. On the heels of these public expectations came the warning by the Chairman of the five-member panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, against delay tactics or technicalities that may hamper the cause of justice in the case before them.
“As we commence hearing of the petitions, let us avoid making sensational comments. Let us consider the safety and interest of the country; that is paramount. We should avoid unnecessary time-wasting applications and objections so that we can look at substance of the case rather than unnecessary technicalities,” he said. He pledged the determination of the justices to be fair to all parties and to look at the matter dispassionately as well as give justice to whoever deserves justice.
Justice Tsammani’s statement is soothing. We know that in some previous presidential election cases, technicalities had been employed to scuttle the cause of justice. In June 2017, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, had cause to speak against this resort to technicalities by some judges. According to him, judges must not allow technicalities to stand in the way of justice in order to sustain public confidence in the judiciary. In September 2021, former CJN Tanko Muhammad also charged Nigerian judges not to allow criminals escape justice on the altar of technicalities so that trust and confidence could be sustained by litigants and the entire citizenry. “It is often painful to see offenders walk away on technicalities just because due diligence was not observed during an investigation or in the course of the trial,” Muhammad said.
No doubt, the courts are the temple of justice. When they derail justice in the name of technicality, they create doubts and disillusionment in the citizens. This takes our democracy backwards. It is worthy to note that the outcome of the 2023 election was highly contentious. All the aggrieved candidates filed their petitions on the grounds that the outcome was not in compliance with the Electoral Act 2022. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was also accused of not following its laid down guidelines for the conduct of the election.
One of the presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar, asked for a live telecast of the proceedings. According to him, televising court proceedings is not alien to the court and will enhance public confidence. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had similarly called on the court to permit media houses to transmit the court’s proceedings live. The court will look into this application on Thursday, May 18. But, considering the nature of what is at stake, and without prejudice to whatever will be the ruling of the court on the matter, we believe that the tribunal will dispense justice without fear or favour. All eyes are on the tribunal even beyond the shores of Nigeria. Nothing short of transparent adjudication of the cases is expected.
One major lacuna in this case is that it started 73 days after the conduct of the election. This is not good. Ideally, election cases are supposed to have been dispensed with before any swearing-in is done. This is how it is done in many other democracies. But from the look of things, this is not feasible in the present circumstance. We have few days to the swearing-in ceremony. Yet, the case just started. Most likely, it will get up to the Supreme Court. Since there won’t be a vacuum in leadership, the President-elect will be sworn in irrespective of the stage of the case in the court.
We need to learn some lessons here. There is need for the reform of our electoral laws to take care of some of these flaws. We ought to conclude every petition regarding the presidential election before the swearing-in date. This confers legitimacy and moral authority on the winner. It will save cost and distraction for the president. Once a president-elect is sworn in, he hits the ground running. It is pertinent to note that election is not over until all the issues surrounding it, especially the court cases, are dispensed with.
Nigeria is facing existential problems. As the tribunal gets down to this assignment, it should look at the petition dispassionately. Time is of essence because justice delayed is justice denied. The stakes are high. Nigerians are in expectant mood. Undue delay in delivering of justice will create doubts in people’s minds.
The judiciary is on trial. It has to live up to its reputation as the last hope of the common man. We commend the justices for their candour so far. We enjoin both the applicants and the respondents to help the tribunal to reach amicable end to this case because anything that affects the morale of the people will have serious impact on the future of democracy in Nigeria. Everything must be done to ensure that justice is not only served but is also clearly seen to have been served.