Afe Babalola, founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) has said that incumbent judges should not preside over hearings on election petitions.
Babalola made the statement on Monday while speaking at an event in Ado-Ekiti to mark his 60th anniversary at the Bar.
He suggested that judges presiding over electoral courts should be separated from regular court judges to avoid a halt in non-electoral cases.
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Recall that as the presidential and Assembly elections began on February 25, as well as the Governor and State Assembly elections on March 18, many angry candidates have filed petitions at tribunals sitting in Abuja and across the states, challenging the results of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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The 90-year-old Chief Advocate of Nigeria, SAN further proposed that retired judges and reputable SANs should assume as tribunal judges.
He said:
“Our judiciary today needs a total overhaul and you cannot do it 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.”
Among the dignitaries on the occasion were former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto Matthew Kukah; Ife’s Ooni, Adeyeye Ogunwusi; former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku; Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and others.
