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BREAKING: There Will Never Be a Live Broadcast of Election Petition Proceedings – Tinubu, Shettima Boast
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, have urged the Presidential Election Petition Court to dismiss the application by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party for a live broadcast of proceedings, while arguing that the relief sought by the applicants are not such that the court could grant it.
Both Tinubu and Shettima said “With much respect to the petitioners, the motion is an abuse of the processes of this honourable court,” .
Besides describing the application as frivolous, they said the court is not a soapbox, stadium or theatre where the public should be entertained.
Through their team of lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, they both wondered why a petitioner would file an application to distract the court and waste its precious time, while stating, in the counter affidavit, that the application relates to policy formulation of the court, which is outside the PEPC’s jurisdiction as constituted.
Olanipekun stated that: “The application also touches on the powers and jurisdiction invested in the President of the Court of Appeal by the Constitution, over which this honourable court as presently constituted cannot entertain.
“The application touches on the administrative functions, which are exclusively reserved for the President of the Court of Appeal.
“The application is aimed at dissipating the precious judicial time of this honourable court.
“The said application does not have any bearing with the petition filed by the petitioners before this honourable court.
“It is in the interest of justice for this honourable court to dismiss the said application filed by the petitioners,” they said.
In an attached written address, the respondents faulted the applicants’ reference to the fact that virtual proceedings were allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They argued that Atiku and his party failed to draw the court’s attention to the fact that practice directions were made by the respective courts for the exercise.
“Another angle to this very curious application is the invitation it extends to the court to make an order that it cannot supervise.
“The position of the law remains, and we do submit that the court, like nature, does not make an order in vain, or an order which is incapable of enforcement,” the respondents stated.
More so, they stated that “At the very best, this application is academic, very otiose, very unnecessary, very time-wasting, most unusual and most unexpected, particularly, from a set of petitioners, who should be praying for the expeditious trial of their petition.
“Petitioners have brought their application under Section 36(3) of the Constitution which provides that the proceedings of a court/tribunal shall be held in public.
“The word ‘public’ as applied under Section 36(3) of the Constitution has been defined in a plethora of judicial authorities to mean a place where members of the public have unhindered access, and the court itself, sitting behind open doors, not in the camera.
“Even in situations where a class action is presented, the particular people constituting the class being represented by the plaintiffs or petitioners are always defined in the originating process.
“Here, in this application, the public at whose behest this application has been presented is not defined, not known, not discernable.
“Beyond all these, it is our submission that the court of law must and should always remain what it is, what it should be and what it is expected to be: a serene, disciplined, hallowed, tranquil, honourable and decorous institution and place.
“It is not a rostrum or a soapbox. It is not also a stadium or theatre. It is not an arena for ‘public’ entertainment.
“With much respect to the petitioners, the motion is an abuse of the processes of this honourable court.”
Residents of Gorau, an agrarian community in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, have been thrown into mourning following a boat accident that claimed many lives.
Malam Tukur, Head of Operations at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Sokoto Zonal Office, confirmed the incident. He said details remain sketchy because the security situation has prevented humanitarian workers from accessing the area.
According to him, NEMA officials, working with the National Inland Waterways Authority and state emergency agencies, are en route to the community. Their journey was delayed by an early morning bandits’ attack.
Local sources said the boat was carrying about 40 passengers, including men and women, with the majority of occupants being children aged between 10 and 15 when it capsized.
Superintendent of Police Ahmad Rufai, spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, said the command would issue a statement on the development soon.
Over forty five bodies have been recovered so far a local journalist in Gorou community of Goronyo local government area of Sokoto state said.
According to him rescue operations is still ongoing as officials of the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA arrived the affected community. He said about 90 boarded the ill-fated boat and so far only 9 persons have been rescued.
Though this is not an official position, as Humanitarian workers on ground are yet to issue a statement.
Former Governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha has dragged Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma to court over what he has termed the governor’s inordinate ambition to contest the Imo West Senatorial seat despite his subsisting term in office as governor until 2028.
In the affidavit attached to the suit filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja, Senator Okorocha states that Uzodinma’s tenure in office as governor will expire at midnight on January 14, 2028, having taken the oath of office and been sworn in on January 15, 2024.
He said Uzodinma, whose tenure would not have expired by the year 2027 when the Senate will be inaugurated after the general election in 2027, also purchased expression of interest and nomination forms for the party’s senatorial ticket.
He urged the court to declare that it was unconstitutional for INEC to publish the name of Uzodinma as the APC’s candidate when it was not he who emerged as the winner of the primary election conducted on May 18.
Mr Okorocha prayed the court for an order directing INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated candidate of the APC to contest the poll.
He alleged that the direct primary election was conducted on May 18 and that he emerged victorious, having secured 150,780 votes while Uzodinma scored 102,158 votes.
He is also asking the court to prohibit Uzodinma, whether by himself or through the APC or anyone however named, from parading himself as the nominated candidate of the party to contest the election.
Respondents in the suit are INEC, Uzodinma and the APC.
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has drawn widespread praise after a video emerged showing him prostrating fully before his elder brother, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, in a traditional Yoruba gesture of respect and gratitude.
The clip, shared on social media by media publisher Dele Momodu, captures the re-elected governor lying flat on the floor before his older brother — the father of Afrobeats star Davido — shortly after Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15, 2026 Osun governorship election. In the footage, the governor is seen thanking his brother for his support during the campaign and asking for his prayers. Dr. Adedeji Adeleke responded by removing his cap and offering prayers for the governor and his administration as family members and associates looked on.
Adeleke secured 511,067 votes to defeat his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 444,815 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission declared him the winner days before the viral moment.
The gesture has sparked positive reactions online, with many Nigerians highlighting the governor’s humility and the strong cultural values of the Adeleke family. Commenters noted that the display of respect for elders remains a hallmark of Yoruba tradition, even for someone holding high office.
Governor Adeleke has previously described his elder brother as a father figure and trusted adviser whose counsel he values highly.
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