The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and All Progressives Congress (APC) disputed the necessity of the hearing being televised by the media before today’s decision on the application for live transmission of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal proceedings.
The PDP and LP claimed to The PUNCH on Sunday that the live transmission of court proceedings would enhance fairness and dispel any worries over the judiciary’s transparency. But, at the same time, the APC contended that it would not improve the administration of justice.
For Nigerians to have firsthand knowledge of the procedures that would guide the tribunal in determining the actual winner of the contest, the PDP and Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, had pleaded with the tribunal to broadcast its sittings live. As a result, Atiku Abubakar finished second in the February 25 election, behind President-elect Bola Tinubu.
In a motion dated May 5 submitted by their attorney Chris Uche, SAN, Atiku and the PDP, they asked the court for an order instructing the court’s registry and the parties on the procedures for allowing media professionals and their equipment into the courtroom.
Peter Obi submitted a similar appeal in which they asserted that Nigerians, as stakeholders, had a right to know the status of the election petition processes in real time.
APC, Tinubu, INEC:
The president-elect, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission all aggressively rejected the application, branding it frivolous.
They contended that the application pertains to the creation of court policy, which is outside the purview of the PEPC in its current structure.
Lateef Fagbemi, the APC attorney, urged the court to refuse the plea to transform the proceedings into “a Big Brother electoral series.”
The counsel to the president-elect, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, noted that the live broadcast if approved, would expose the judges and lawyers to danger. In contrast, the counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, argued that the application was needless since “the court is a public place and is accessible to all, subject to the availability of space.”
After hearing the arguments from all the parties last Thursday, the court reserved a ruling on the application till Monday (today).
Peter Obi Statement:
But speaking on the issue ahead of the ruling, Obi insists on the live broadcast of the court proceedings.
Obi, who spoke to our correspondent through his media aide, Emeka Obasi, urged the tribunal to rule in favour of his application in the interest of transparency and democracy. He said,
“We are in the modern age where transparency is required. An election is being disputed by four political parties. To be fair and for equity, it is very much expected that processes are steamed live for people to follow. We are talking about over 200 million Nigerians. The courtroom cannot contain 1,000 people.
“Every interested Nigerian should be given the access to see for himself or herself the proceedings of the most important ruling in the history of the country. So, if we are practising democracy, the tribunal has nothing other than to approve the live streaming.”
Buttressing his principal’s arguments, the Spokesperson for Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, noted that the approval of the live broadcast would build trust and restore “the hope of the common man as the judiciary is seen to be the hope of the common man, especially now that the judiciary is also seen to be on trial.”
cc: Punch Ng
