The European Union (EU) has called on Nigeria to strengthen its electoral system by ensuring that leaders emerge through the ballot and not by court rulings.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, made this call in Abuja on Thursday during the official launch of a report titled “From Ballot to the Courts: Analysis of Election Petition Litigation from Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections”, produced by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).
Speaking through Ruben Alba, the acting Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mignot emphasised that overreliance on courts to determine election outcomes undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He pointed out that INEC faces significant logistical challenges, and the unpredictability of conflicting court decisions often hampers the electoral body’s ability to administer elections effectively.
“The critical role of the judiciary in Nigeria’s democratic process has been confirmed by various judgments with great impact on the country’s democratic process. The courts have, through several groundbreaking decisions, strengthened and deepened democracy in Nigeria,” Mignot noted.
“In other words, the role played by the judiciary in the electoral process has, no doubt, given rise to positive and crucial transformation in the development process of Nigeria, but we still have a lot to work on,” he added.
The EU envoy underscored the importance of the judiciary in upholding democratic principles but stressed the need for balance and transparency in how electoral justice is dispensed.
“It is also equally important to note that an effective judicial system is a collective responsibility, while the judiciary has a significant role to play in ensuring a timely, efficient and transparent dispensation of justice,” he said.
Mignot urged Nigerian citizens to be more informed about their constitutional rights and to engage the system in a manner that holds it accountable.
“Citizens must also remain inform of their rights as enshrined by the Constitution, and this is also to hold the system accountable. With electoral judiciary, there needs to be adequate information that forces compliance with the free spirit of the legislation so that cases are not just dismissed based only on technicalities,” he said.
He also highlighted concerns over inconsistent court rulings on similar cases, warning that such discrepancies could erode public confidence in the electoral and judicial systems.
“The conflicted decisions in respect of the same set of facts is also weighing heavily on the quality of the country’s democratic experience and the trust of voters,” he cautioned.
“And as it was mentioned before, leaders should be elected through the ballot and not by the courts.”
In his remarks, Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director of PLAC, said the newly launched report provided an in-depth review of judicial decisions arising from petitions filed after the February and March 2023 general elections.
He explained that the report evaluates the impact of rulings from Election Petition Tribunals, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court, offering insights into how electoral justice was administered in the aftermath of the polls.
