Keyamo: Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied, However We Need To Be Vigilant

In line with PunchNews, while Nigeria’s electoral tribunal is set to begin hearing opposition petitions questioning President-elect Bola Tinubu’s victory Monday, Minister of State for Labor and Productivity Festus Keyamo warned that a swift decision on the Petitions being requested before May 29 can be counterproductive.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress party the victor, beating his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labor Party, who had alleged fraud and launched a legal challenge.

The May 8 hearing will be before the Court of Appeal judges who make up the tribunal, but Keyamo said Sunday that those demanding the decision on the election applications before the May 29 swearing-in ceremonies are either ignorant or mischievous.

Those who think that they are doing something good for the petitioners with such a call do not realize that they are doing great harm to the petitioners’ cases, said the minister.

In his opinion, the petitioners need more time to prove their cases, not necessarily the defendants and the case files cannot be before the 29 slip. It takes more effort to prove a petition than to defend it.

The rules on petitions do not allow petitioners to prove their cases piecemeal.

A petitioner cannot pursue a single point to the Supreme Court and, having lost, return to the tribunal or court and say he/she now wants to prove other aspects of the case.

The advocates of deciding the electoral petitions before May 29 are doing great damage to the cases of their clients (the petitioners).

You should realize that just as we say, Justice delayed is justice denied, we also say, Justice overturned is justice crushed, Keyamo said.

Under Nigerian election laws, on the first day of the hearing, the candidates’ lawyers will agree on the witnesses and evidence to be used during the proceedings.