Olanipekun, others decry controversial court ruling

Olanipekun, others decry controversial court ruling

Posted by Sylvester on Friday, May 2, 2014 0

Sponsored Advertisement?

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun, and others on Thursday decried some decisions of the judiciary which they said amounted to injustice in some electoral matters.

The former NBA president said the courts especially the Supreme Court ought to have interpreted the Electoral Act and the law generally in a way that would deliver justice.

Olanipekun spoke in Lagos as the chairman of the Seventh Annual Chief Alao Aka-Bashorun Lecture organised by the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association.

The lecture organised in honour of the late Aka-Bashorun, a former president of the NBA, was part of the activities marking this year’s edition of the NBA branch’s activities.

The former NBA president, who said he had had to “confront” some Supreme Court justices with the irregularity in their decisions in some electoral matters, was responding to the lecture delivered by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Osinbajo is a law teacher and former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

In his lecture, titled, ‘Electoral Justice as a Panacea for Peaceful Transition’, Osibanjo had advocated an amendment of the Constitution to remove the 180 days requirement stipulated for the resolution of election petition disputes.

Osinbajo described the the provision as “a deadly virus that kills electoral justice”.

He said,” The 180 days allowed is the time that all of the parties must present their evidence and call their witnesses.

“It includes Saturdays and Sundays when the Election Petition Tribunal do not sit.

“The tribunal must also review the evidence and give judgment within the 180 days. So the chances of a petitioner getting a fair hearing is very slim.”