Constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, Professor Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has emphasized that the Judiciary’s function in resolving electoral disputes is to safeguard the integrity, fairness, and legality of electoral processes by interpreting and applying electoral laws to address conflicts that arise during or after elections.
Prof. Ozekhome stated this during the 9th Convocation Ceremony Lecture of Gregory University Uturu, where he delivered a lecture titled “The Judiciary as the Final Arbiter of Electoral Outcomes: Aberrations and Judgements Without Justice.”
He further explained that this crucial function not only upholds the rule of law but also reinforces public confidence in the democratic process, offering a sense of order and justice when tensions are high.
Prof. Ozekhome pointed out that the exploitation of procedural rules has placed an additional burden on the judicial system. In this regard, he argued, “The quality of testimony tendered by witnesses is more important than the number of witnesses in an election matter, as a large number of witnesses may not necessarily guarantee victory for a party in election matters.”
He therefore called for further amendments to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the 2022 Electoral Act to ensure that election petitions are concluded before the inauguration of elected officials, as was done during the 1979 elections in the Second Republic. “In other words, no winner of an election petition should be sworn in until the disposal of a petition challenging his or her election,” Ozekhome said.