The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, on Monday, bemoaned the volume of lawsuits emanating from elections in the country, saying it is preventing judges from dealing with other cases, including those bordering on the economy.
The appeal court president noted that from the 2023 general elections, 1,209 petitions arose, necessitating the setting of 98 panels of judges to adjudicate on them,
Giving a breakdown of the petitions, she said five were filed at the Presidential Election Petition Court; 147 at the senatorial election tribunals; 417 at the House of Representatives elections tribunal; 557 at the Houses of Assembly election tribunals and 83 focusing on the governorship elections.
Justice Dongban-Mensem noted that of the 28 states where governorship elections took place in the last general elections, only Kwara, Niger, Yobe, and Katsina did not result in litigation.
She said already, lawsuits had started arising from the primary elections ahead of the off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states November 11 elections.
She therefore, urged politicians to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship, adding that all elections should not always end up in the court.
