Ifeanyi Ibe
Legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, has advocated for sitting judges to stop presiding over election matters before tribunals.
Rather, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria holds that such judges who are to be saddled with election petitions should be separate from regular court judges to avoid needless delays of cases unrelated to elections.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelConsequently, he is of the view that retired judges or respectable Senior Advocates should be given the responsibility of presiding over election tribunals.
Afe Babalola declared this position on Monday, in Ado-Ekiti, during the 60th anniversary of his call to the Bar, asserting that the judiciary needs a total overhaul. Address Cash Crunch In Banks, Afe Babalola Urges FG
“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,” Babalola stated.
Dignitaries at the occasion include former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah; the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi; former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku; human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), amongst others.
