Special Committee Should Handle Election Petitions, Not Sitting Judges – Afe Babalola

CONTRARY to what is currently obtainable in Nigeria, election petitions are not supposed to be decided by sitting judges, a legal luminary has said.

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti – ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, said on Monday, that such petitions should be decided only by the committee set up consisting of senior advocates and retired judges. He said that way, regular courts would not close down.

Babalola, who opined that the nation’s judiciary needs a total overhaul, also noted that, that cannot be achieved without a new constitution.

“I have about three cases myself in respect of matters arising from the university.”

“For the past four years, these cases have been on. We have some judges here, the headquarters won’t be able to sit for many months because they are handling what they call election petitions.

“Election petitions should not be handled by sitting judges, they should be decided only by the committee set up consisting of senior advocates and retired judges in that case regular courts would not close down,” Babalola stated.