We Have 600 Pre-Election Matters Before Us – Court Of Appeal President Reveals

No fewer than 600 pre-election matters have been received by the Court of Appeal ahead of the forthcoming polls.

According to the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, the above figure of cases was received from 20 of its divisions nationwide within three months and more are still coming.

Naija News reports that Dongban-Mensem made the revelation on Friday when she received the Ambassador of the European Union Delegation, Samuela Isopi in her office.

She noted that “The court received over 600 pre-election appeals in the 20 divisions of the court from November to date and more appeals are still being filed.

“Over 60 panels were set up in the various divisions to hear and determine all pre-election appeals filed.

“Mindful of the pressures under which the Hon Justices are working, some experienced registrars of the court were empanelled to summarise the decisions so far made and distribute to the various divisions to avoid conflicting decisions.”

Dongbam-Mensem explained that there is now a Judicial Electoral Manual which incorporates decisions of the Supreme Court and those of the appellate court and the “critical” fundamental sections of the Electoral Act, 2022.

She observed that the manual was to make sure that appeals with similar facts and issues are categorised together to maintain the doctrine of stare decisis.

The President of the Court of Appeal, who expressed gladness to receive the ambassador advanced her visit and presented an opportunity to exchange views, share experiences and learn from their respective experiences in their countries.

She appreciated the role and efforts of the active involvement of Election Observation Missions in the country to ensure free, fair and credible elections, noting that transparency in the electoral process is one of the core values of democratic stability in a nation.

She also stated that “Pertinent to state that the role of these Observer Organisations has greatly impacted the resolve to review the Electoral Act, 2010.

“The Electoral Act, 2022 has introduced laudable innovations to strengthen our democracy and ensure credible elections.

“The Court of Appeal has reviewed, developed and expanded the scope of working materials for Judges.

“In preparation for delivering its constitutional mandate, the court is faced with numerous challenges which include but not limited to paucity of funds.

“Permit me to state that the court is in a dilemma, we have just 21 days to the general election and the special intervention fund to conduct the Election Petition Tribunal is yet to be released.

“It is expected that by now, provisions would have been made for the procurement of necessary materials and equipment needed for the smooth running of the various tribunals.

“Also, we ought to have organised further training for Hon. Justices, Members of the Tribunals and Secretariat Staff but we cannot due to paucity of funds.

“We are hopeful that these challenges will be soon addressed before the conduct of the general election.

“I thank your excellence for the visit and look forward to a fruitful interactive session.”

Naija News also gathered that the ambassador was happy about the improvement in the electoral processes in the country.

Isopi submitted that “One of the points you made was to support the judiciary on building capacity of judges on election-related matters.

“I am happy to say we were able to support in training 300 judges.

“We also trained secretaries and support staff because, for us, this is something that is seen as being crucial.

“This is because we know that it really can contribute to improving and promoting election dispute resolutions.”