Election Tribunal Takes Final Decision On Request For Live Broadcast Of Proceedings | READ DETAILS

The four-man panel of the Presidential election Tribunal, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, has rejected the application for live broadcast of court proceedings.

Recall that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had in a suit later joined by his Labour Party counterpart, Mr Peter Obi, requested that the proceedings of the Tribunal be televised live.

Giving ruling on the application on Monday, Justice Tsammani waved off the application on the grounds that it lacked merit and is not supported by any law.

In a unanimous decision, the panel held that the order sought by the petitioner was outside the scope of the petition, adding that televising of proceedings is not provided for in any law.

According to the panel, the court is created by the constitution and operates under the law by the Court of Appeal and was also created to hear and determine the petitions before it and cannot act as a vanguard.

They added that 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” the panel ruled.

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.