The presidential election petition tribunal has dismissed the application for live coverage of court proceedings.
A five-member panel of the court led by Haruna Tsammani on Monday held that the application lacked merit.
In a unanimous decision, the panel held that the order sought by the petitioner was outside the scope of the petition, adding that televising of proceedings is not provided for in any law.
Justice Tsammani further stated that the motion should not be granted at this time because it could transform the court into a stadium or market.
The former vice-president had said televising the proceedings will enhance public confidence.
Arguing the motion, Chris Uche, counsel for Atiku and the PDP, said: “There is no single legislative or statutory position against it.”
He said a live broadcast doesn’t necessarily mean the faces of the justices would be shown.
The ruling followed a May 5th suit by the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, asking the tribunal to broadcast its sittings live to Nigerians to enable them to have firsthand information of the processes that would guide the tribunal in determining the authentic winner of the contest.
A similar application was filed by the Labour Party and its flag bearer, Peter Obi, through their lead counsel, Awa Kalu, SAN. They argued that Nigerians have a right to access real-time information about the election petition proceedings.
Their applications were however opposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the president-elect and the APC.
Counsel for APC, Lateef Fagbemi, asked the court not to concede the request to turn the court into “a Big Brother electoral series.”
The counsel to the president-elect, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, noted that the live broadcast if approved, would expose both the judges and lawyers to danger while the counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, argued that the application was needless since already, “the court is a public place and is accessible to all, subject to the availability of space.”
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
