Ex-jurist seeks one-time final adjudication on election petitions

A retired justice of the Court of Appeal, Professor Mojeed Owoade, has proposed the adoption of one-time final adjudication for election petitions in the country.

The professor of law said the innovation would reduce the workload on courts, save cost and uplift the standard of determination of election disputes.

Prof. Owoade said the one-time tribunal-level adjudication of disputes should be by justices of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and judges of high courts and should terminate there once determined.

Speaking at a one-day conference on ‘National Convergence on Citizens’ Led Engagement on Judicial Accountability in Post-Election Justice Delivery in Nigeria’ put together by the Actionaid, he said the proposal should be part of the structural and procedural reform to the Nigerian constitution and other electoral laws.

He further proposed that only judicial officers, who are not under any investigation by the National Judicial Council (NJC), should participate in election petitions.