Speaking during its inaugural sitting on Wednesday, Zainab Bulkachuwa,
president of the court of appeal, said actions will be taken against
offenders.
Bulkachuwa lamented the practice of analyzing court proceedings on
social media and making a verdict while the court has not made a
pronouncement.
She said litigants in the pending presidential election petitions before
the tribunal will have equal chance to argue their case.
“Any breach will not be condoned and we will not hesitate in taking
necessary action against such offenders,” Bulkachuwa said.
“We assure all stakeholders that each litigant will be given equal
opportunity to present his case in a mature manner before us.
“We are witnesses to what has been happening in high-profile cases where
such cases are being discussed and publicly decided prematurely in both
the social and electronic media before the announcement of the verdict
by the court.
“We pray that this time would be an exception for the benefit of the
nation. We don’t expect counsel to any of the parties to hype the polity
after any sitting by making a public analysis in the media as to what
transpired in court.”
She urged the parties, lawyers, public commentators and journalists to
refrain from public discourse of the proceedings until the tribunal
pronounces its judgement.
“These proceedings should be treated as would any other low-profile
case, where proceedings in court are not discussed publicly until a
decision is pronounced by the court,” Bulkachuwa said.
“This admonition is also extended to the parties, their respective
counsel and the members of the press.
“We, on our own part, will make relevant information available as and
when due.”
The tribunal will consider four petitions challenging President
Muhammadu Buhari’s victory.
Among the petitions is that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and
Atiku Abubakar, its candidate.