Victor EzejaAhead of the Wednesday date for ruling on petitions challenging the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Court of Appeal, Abuja has ordered its staff members to stay at home.
This was disclosed in a memo signed by Oluwaleye Oluwasegun David, for the Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal, Abuja.
According to the memo, only staff members with tags would be allowed entry into the court premises on Wednesday.
The court has scheduled Wednesday, September 6 as date for judgement in the petitions filed by presidential candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the Allied Peoples Movement.
The memo disclosed that there will be heavy deployment of security agents both at the entrance of the court and various strategic locations of the court complex.
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“I have been directed to inform all members of staff of the Headaquarters and Abuja Division to stay at home on Wednesday, 6th of September, 2023,” part of the memo read.
“This is to create a conducive and peaceful atmosphere for special sitting for the Presidential Election Tribunal Petition at Abuja Division of the Court.
“In view of the above, very strong security apparatus have been arranged to man the entrance of the Court and also in all strategic areas of the Court Complex.
“In addition, only staff with tags provided by the Management will be allowed into the Court premises. Please be informed as instructed,” the memo added.
Aside from the memo instructing Court of Appeal staff to stay at home, a statement released by the Court of Appeal Registrar Umar Bangari on Monday, also indicated that access to the court premises will be restricted to only those accredited, including legal counsels, and reprentatives of political parties.
Bagari also confirmed that live broadcast of the proceedings will be allowed.
The statement said: “Access to the Court premises will be strictly on accreditation. Only accredited individuals, including Counsel and representatives of Political Parties, will be granted access to the courtroom.
“Interested members of the public are advised to watch proceedings from their television sets. We appeal for the maximum cooperation of the general public to ensure a hitch-free exercise, please.”
Reacting to the development, human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, queried the sincerity of the court in restricting movement in and around the Appeal Court premises and also turning around to now allow live broadcast of the judgement when it ruled against that during trial.
The court had ruled that there was no legal framework for live broadcast of proceedings and turned the application down during trial.
Effiong wrote: “During the debate about live broadcast of proceedings, I argued that there is no harm in allowing live broadcast because judgments in presidential election petitions are usually televised live.
“However, the court ruled that there was no legal framework for broadcast of the proceedings.
“Is there a legal framework in place for live broadcast of the judgments?” He queried.
“Judgment is part of proceedings.”
Prime Business Africa reports that Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had in his final written address after hearing was concluded in the matter, urged the court to dismiss the petitions.
Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in the last five months.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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