Tribunal Rejects Requests for Live Broadcast of Proceedings

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The requests of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) for a live broadcast of proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal have been rejected.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, dismissed the applications of the opposition parties on Monday, May 22, 2023, for lack of merit.

In his judgement today, Justice Tsammani held that the request was capable of turning the court into a stadium or market square, emphasising that such must not be allowed for now.

The judge further said live coverage of the court’s proceedings would not add any totalitarian value to the petitions of the opposition parties seeking to upturn the victory of the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Bola Tinubu.

Mr Tinubu was declared the winner of the poll held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party are challenging the outcome of the election.

They asked the tribunal to allow a live broadcast of the proceedings, arguing that it was for transparency. But the APC rejected this, stressing that the court is not a marketplace, warning that granting such prayers could pose security risks to members of the judiciary.