By Angela Atabo
Abuja – The Situation Room, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Monday blamed failure of some election petitions in the country’s judiciary on lawyers’ poor handling and lack of knowledge.
One of the conveners of the group, Mr Festus Okoye, made this known at the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room Roundtable with Nigerian Bar Association on Tuesday in Abuja.
Okoye said some of the lawyers handling election petitions had inadequate knowledge of the law and Constitution.
He said that some of the challenges associated with handling election petitions included poor knowledge of the language and forms of petitions.
“It also includes poor attention to the preparation of election petitions and late sourcing of evidence for the filing of election petitions.
“Some are carelessness and negligence on the part of legal practitioners and failure to file pre-hearing notices which amounts to abandoning the petition.”
Okoye said that the tribunals struck out so many petitions on technical grounds, because some lawyers forgot to sign the petitions.
He said that some of them framed issues outside the constitutionally prescribed ones.
He said that some lawyers joined the wrong parties in the petition and some did not read the Constitution and the Electoral Act before filing their petitions.
The convener also said that some lawyers thought that handling election petitions was akin to handling ordinary day-to-day cases.
He, however, said that going forward, there was need for certainty in the electoral process regarding the exact legal and constitutional framework that would govern the conduct of elections.
Okoye also called on the leadership of the judiciary and the electoral management body to organise training programme for election petition judges to update them on new issues in handling petitions.
He advised that lawyers should see handling of election petitions as a specialised area and organise training to acquaint themselves with issues in handling election petitions.
He added that the National Assembly and the Presidency should complete the alteration to the Constitution and the amendment to the Electoral Act at least six months before 20189 elections.
Okoye suggested that the Smart Card Reader and the gradual infusion of technology into the electoral process should be embedded in the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Presenting the Review of the recent 2018 Electoral Reform Amendments ahead of 2019, Mr Nnaemeka Ughanze, who represented the Nigerian Bar Association, said there was need for Nigerians to keep abreast with electoral laws.
Ughanze said that the fact sheet contained highlights of the extensive amendments made to the 2010 Electoral Act as amended by the National Assembly.
He said that it was expected to be sent to the president for assent, adding that the amendment Bill had about 45 clauses, including the interpretation and citation sections.
He called on major stakeholders to ensure the passage of the bill soon as possible.
Another convener of the group, Mr Clement Nwankwo, called on politicians to have the integrity of delivering on their mandate to the electorate as 2019 approaches.
Nwankwo also urged politicians to be delighted in their party primaries so as to guarantee credible election and reduce petitions from 2019 elections.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Electoral Bill as amended so as to allow for swift preparation for the elections. (NAN)