APPLICATION for live coverage of court proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Court has been dismissed.
The Chairman of the Presidential Election Petition Court, Justice Haruna Tsammani said during proceedings in Abuja on Monday, that the application by the Peoples Democratic Party – PDP, and Labour Party – LP, lacked merit.
The panel unanimously held that the order was outside the scope of the petition, adding that televising of proceedings is not provided for in any law.
The panel stated that the court is created by the constitution and operates under the law by the Court of Appeal and that it was created to hear and determine the petitions before it and cannot act as a vanguard.
According to the justices, the undue pressure of allowing cameras into the courtroom should be avoided as the impact it will have on witnesses can not be predicted.
The court is created to find out the truth and should be allowed to do so, said the panel, which held that the request was novel and not supported with any law in the country for now.
The panel further held that the request was not rooted from the petition Atiku filed before the court.
Justice Tsammani added that the request was capable of turning the court to a stadium or marketplace and that must not be allowed for now.
The panel held that granting the request for a live broadcast of proceedings of the petition would not add any value to the petition.
Justice Tsammani finally held that the petition was without merit and subsequently dismissed it.