The Federal Government has dissolved the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) for approving the trending ‘All Eyes on The Judiciary’ billboards.

All Eyes on the Election Tribunal Judges’ narrative began as a social media campaign by supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi.

The campaigners are alleging plans by the judiciary to favour the incumbent President Bola Tinubu.

The Federal Government said the advertisement was a blackmail of the tribunal.

Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, in a statement, yesterday, announced the dissolution of the panel.

Fadolapo said the Council had also suspended its Director and Deputy Director in charge of regulations to allow investigations into the issue.

The ARCON DG said the Council would set up a committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the “erroneous approval” of one of the concepts of the advert and the breach of the vetting guidelines.

The statement reads: “The attention of ARCON has been drawn to the “All Eyes on the Judiciary” advertisements exposed on some billboards across the country. The concepts exposed were not approved by the ASP hence, the materials being exposed be brought down immediately and the violators sanctioned.

“The advertisement is controversial and capable of instigating unrest and breach of public peace.

“The Advertising Standards Panel of the Council also erred in the approval of one of the concepts as the advertisement failed to vet guidelines on the following grounds:

“A matter being jus pendis and awaiting judicial pronouncement is, by virtue of the Nigerian legal system, precluded from being a subject of public statement, debate, discussion, advertisement and so on.

“The advertisement is controversial and capable of instigating public unrest and breach of public peace.

“The advertisement is considered blackmail against the Nigerian Judiciary, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, and particularly the Justices of the tribunal who are expected to discharge their judicial functions without fear or favour over a matter that is currently jus pendis.

“Consequently, the Director and Deputy Director, Regulations, have also been suspended. The suspension is to enable an unprejudiced investigation of the issue. The Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) Secretariat failing to diligently exercise its function as the gatekeeper of advertising is hereby dissolved.”