On Monday, the Presidential Election Petition Tibunal in Abuja rejected a plea to broadcast daily sessions related to petitions seeking to invalidate the results of the 2023 presidential election.
The two major candidates’ attempt to challenge the election results was turned down by Justice Haruna Tsammani’s five-member panel because it lacked validity.
The court decided that there was no legal structure or policy in place that would have permitted it to grant such a request. It emphasized that a key judicial policy is that allowing cameras in the courtroom requires legal support.
Presidential Tribunal Proceedings: Decision Taken Atiku’s Request For Live Broadcast
“We cannot permit a situation that may lead to dramatization of our proceedings,” Justice Tsammani declared.
The court argued that the request was purely based on an emotional assertion of public interest and was not related to any redress sought in the petitions.
The petitioners’ inability to show how broadcasting hearings will help their case was again stressed.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party’s (LP) Peter Obi initially demanded live broadcast, claiming the issue was a “matter of monumental national concern and public interest,” according to Newsmen.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, both urged the court to reject the case because they believed it to be an abuse of the legal system.
UPDATE: Tinubu, Shettima, INEC Reject Tribunal Proceedings Live Broadcast
Atiku was charged with trying to bring the judiciary under public scrutiny, according to Tinubu and his vice president-elect, Kashim Shettima.
They argued that the court “is not a rostrum or a soapbox. It is not also a stadium or theatre. It is not an arena for public entertainment.”
The APC, lead by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, asserted before the court that the presidential election “is not subject matter of any national concern” and that millions of voters participated in a process that was expertly run by INEC.
The APC also expressed concern that live coverage “will subject the proceedings of the court to unnecessary sensationalism and undue social media trial.”
Onaiyekan Backs Calls For Live Broadcast Of Election Tribunal Proceedings
In addition, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) objected to the proceedings being televised live.
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