Make presidential election case proceedings open, Kila tells Buhari, CJN

An international Director of Studies at the European Centre of Advanced and Professional Studies, Prof. Anthony Kila, has called on President Muhamadu Buhari; the Attorney General of the Federation; Abubakar Malami and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, to ensure that all electoral court proceedings and petitions before the Election Petition Tribunal, particularly the presidential contest, are made public by way of media coverage.

The Jean Monnet professor of Strategy and Development, also appealed to all the necessary stakeholders in the country, to ensure that the electoral cases in court are adjudicated before the swearing-in date of May 29, 2023.

Speaking with The Guardian on the telephone yesterday, the university don, said the need to make the court cases, regarding the election open, transparent and clear bothered on the fact that the 2023 presidential election held on February 25, was the most contentious in the history of Nigeria.

He said any mistake to hide the proceedings of the court cases from those questioning the processes of the polls with the belief that it was deliberately tailored to favour a particular candidate and those who believed a winner truly emerged, would not give the needed credibility to the incoming government.

Kila said, “Even as we speak, many Nigerians are not convinced that the winner of the presidential election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) got the majority votes of the people. Nigerians are complaining about a lot of things regarding the election and one way to clear such doubts is by making the process of the tribunal open on live broadcast. The media should not be restricted in any aspect of the court proceedings.”

He said it would not speak well of Mr. President to hand over power and also allow the Chief Justice of the Federation to swear in someone, whom about 60 to 70 percent of the voters believed didn’t win the contest.”

He said the 2023 presidential poll has left Nigeria in a very divisive state, saying, “A significant part of the country considers the elections free and argues that election results reflect the wishes of the people while another significant part of the country considers the elections highly flawed and considers the results unacceptable.

“Contenders are currently in court to challenge the results. This dualism is causing a lot of tension in the country. One of the best ways to douse the tension in the country, restore unity and legitimise the incoming government is to make sure that all parties get a convincing, transparent and timely adjudication of electoral cases that will give all sides in the country a sense of clarity and justice that will bring an end to all ongoing controversies.”

He said a transparent and timely adjudication court case would help legitimise victory and aid giving closure to those that did not win. “To ensure that justice is seen to be done in an era where television is more real than reality, I recommend that the Chief Justice allows electoral cases to be televised so that more people could, in real time and in detail, know how judgment was reached. Let me strongly recommend that you treat all court cases and deliver judgment before the swearing in date so that anybody sworn into power would be fully legitimised to act in the name of all.”