Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has cautioned judicial officers, politicians, lawyers and other stakeholders against turning courts into political battlegrounds through intimidation, misinformation, conflicting court orders and abuse of judicial processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Kekere-Ekun insisted that election petitions must be determined strictly on the basis of evidence and applicable laws rather than political pressure, public opinion or candidates’ popularity, warning that the judiciary would not tolerate attempts to compromise its independence or manipulate judicial proceedings.
Her warning came as 375 judicial officers were inaugurated to serve on election petition tribunals across the country, while the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, called for a special code of conduct for lawyers handling electoral disputes to address professional misconduct.
At the same event, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, raised concerns over the growing use of deepfake videos, artificial intelligence-generated disinformation and manipulated electronic evidence, warning that such developments could complicate election petitions and threaten political stability.
The officials spoke during the inauguration ceremony and commencement of a three-day capacity-building workshop for Justices of the Court of Appeal and members of election petition tribunals. The workshop, held at the Body of Benchers Complex in Abuja, was themed “Election Tribunal as a Tool for Political Stability.”
Addressing the newly inaugurated judicial officers, Kekere-Ekun warned politicians, political parties, public officials and social media users against attempting to influence judicial decisions through public statements, intimidation, deliberate misinformation and campaigns aimed at discrediting the courts.
“The judicial process is not a continuation of the electoral campaign by other means,” she declared, stressing that public opinion and a candidate’s popularity could not replace credible evidence before a court
.
The CJN maintained that election petitions must be resolved based on pleadings, evidence and relevant constitutional and electoral provisions, cautioning influential individuals against prejudging cases or making inflammatory comments capable of escalating political tensions.
“Misinformation, intimidation and attempts to prejudice pending proceedings have no place in a society governed by the rule of law,” she said
.
Kekere-Ekun also expressed concern about the increasing use of social media to attack judicial officers and shape public perception of pending cases, urging media organisations to maintain professionalism and exercise restraint when reporting judicial proceedings.
She condemned the practice of filing multiple lawsuits and appeals over the same subject matter, obtaining conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction and using ex parte applications to gain tactical advantages in political disputes.
According to her, such practices “can bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” while legal practitioners must resist the temptation to turn the judicial process into “another instrument of political contest.”
The CJN reminded tribunal members that their responsibility was not to determine Nigerians’ political preferences but to settle election-related disputes in accordance with the law, irrespective of the individuals or political interests involved.
She urged them to remain “firm where firmness is required, patient where patience is necessary, and impartial in every circumstance,” emphasising that public confidence in the judiciary would largely depend on their conduct and the credibility of their decisions.
In his remarks, Amupitan warned that the 2027 general elections could expose tribunals to sophisticated digital manipulation capable of distorting evidence, misleading voters and generating confusion over election results.
He noted that threats to electoral integrity had expanded beyond ballot snatching and physical intimidation to include the use of artificial intelligence to impersonate election officials, circulate fabricated announcements and produce false evidence of electoral malpractice.
The INEC chairman identified three major concerns: AI-generated messages falsely announcing the relocation or cancellation of polling units; deepfake audio and video recordings circulated during the statutory broadcast blackout before elections; and cloned videos of returning officers falsely announcing results before the completion of collation.
He warned that fabricated recordings could later be presented before election tribunals as evidence of malpractice, while authentic materials might equally be dismissed as products of artificial intelligence.
Amupitan described the latter development as the “Liar’s Dividend,” warning that it could make the authentication of electronic evidence increasingly difficult and weaken public confidence in judicial decisions.
He urged tribunal members to maintain strict evidential standards under Section 84 of the Evidence Act, including verification of digital origins, proper forensic chains of custody and the use of certified electoral records obtained from INEC.
The commission’s chairman stressed that evidence from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), result sheets and voters’ registers must undergo careful scrutiny to establish its authenticity and reliability.
Such evidence, he said, “should neither be treated as infallible nor discounted simply because the evidence is electronic.”
Amupitan also highlighted Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, which addresses the electronic transmission of polling unit results and the legal implications of communication failures, warning that its interpretation “may feature prominently in future petitions.”
He explained that INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2026 provided for BVAS deployment, the uploading of results to IReV and safeguards for reconciling electronic records with physical result sheets during collation.
According to him, the guidelines also provided procedures for addressing technological failures and discrepancies, establishing “clearer operational standards against which allegations of non-compliance may be evaluated.”
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections fixed for February 6, Amupitan said the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy would rest on “impartial electoral administration and fearless judicial adjudication.”
He described election petition tribunals as “the constitutional valve that releases political pressure and prevents electoral friction from devolving into civil disruption,” cautioning that inconsistent, excessively technical or delayed judgments could erode public confidence.
The INEC chairman urged judicial officers to ensure consistency in interpreting electoral laws, particularly on substantial compliance, burden and standard of proof, and disputes involving candidates’ nominations.
Although he acknowledged the importance of resolving election petitions within constitutionally prescribed timelines, he warned that expedition “must never displace the fundamental right to fair hearing,” urging judges to “avoid technicalities that defeat substantive justice.”
He also advocated stronger professional engagement between INEC and the judiciary to improve understanding of electoral procedures and technological developments, while insisting that such cooperation must not undermine judicial independence.
According to him, the proposed engagement “is not an avenue to influence judicial decisions or discuss the merits of pending proceedings.”
Amupitan reminded tribunal members that they carried “the democratic aspirations of over 200 million Nigerians,” describing the courtroom as “the altar upon which public confidence in constitutional governance is preserved.”
Fagbemi, who also addressed the gathering, urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to introduce a specific code of conduct for lawyers handling election petitions and pre-election disputes to tackle unethical practices and abuse of court processes.
He said courts should remain institutions for the “fair and dispassionate resolution” of disputes rather than “arenas for professional misconduct or unnecessary controversy.”
The Attorney-General also highlighted changes introduced by the Electoral Act 2026, noting that the legislation had altered the legal framework governing election petitions, party primaries, campaign financing and electoral administration.
He cited Section 138(1), which limits election petitions to allegations of corrupt practices, non-compliance with the Electoral Act and failure to secure a majority of lawful votes cast, while removing candidate disqualification as an explicit ground for challenging an election after the polls.
Fagbemi explained that disputes concerning candidates’ qualifications would consequently have to be addressed largely through pre-election proceedings.
He also referenced Sections 83(5) and 83(6), which restrict judicial intervention in certain internal political party disputes and prescribe costs of at least N10 million each against litigants and their lawyers in specified circumstances.
According to him, the law had abolished indirect primaries, recognising direct primaries and consensus arrangements as the approved methods of selecting candidates. It also increased campaign spending limits to N10 billion for presidential candidates and N3 billion for governorship candidates.
He added that the maximum individual donation to a candidate had risen from N50 million to N500 million, while political parties were now required to maintain digital membership registers and submit them to INEC at least 21 days before primaries, congresses or conventions.
The Attorney-General warned that incorrect judicial decisions could produce serious consequences for governance and democratic stability, observing that a wrong decision “may take another four years to correct.”
He proposed establishing multiple tribunal panels in jurisdictions expected to receive large volumes of election petitions and called for the careful selection of court registrars to guarantee efficient proceedings.
Earlier, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, disclosed that 138 of the 375 judicial officers nominated for election petition tribunals had previously served on such panels, while 237 were newly nominated.
She said the appointments followed consultations with Heads of Courts and the NBA, reminding the judicial officers that their selection was “a call to service, not privilege.”
Dongban-Mensem urged them to reject “every attempt at improper influence, whether through political pressure, inducement, intimidation, personal relationships or other considerations extraneous to the administration of justice.”
She also warned against unnecessary adjournments and procedural delays, emphasising the need to balance speedy determination of petitions with fairness to litigants.
“Expedition must never undermine fairness, just as procedural indulgence must not frustrate timely adjudication,” she said.
The Court of Appeal President disclosed that a centralised Case Management System had been developed to scan, upload and store judicial decisions, while an Electronic Filing Portal had been introduced to facilitate the submission and service of court processes.
She said the platforms would enhance efficiency, preserve auditable records and support the monitoring of election petition proceedings across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A major highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of the second edition of the Judicial Electoral Manual 2026 by the CJN.
The publication contains relevant constitutional provisions, sections of the Electoral Act, practice directions and decided cases to assist judicial officers in handling electoral disputes.
Kekere-Ekun, however, stressed that the manual was not intended to replace independent judicial reasoning, while Amupitan described it as “an indispensable compass” for consistent adjudication.
Fagbemi welcomed the publication, saying it would strengthen the quality of judicial decisions and encourage consistency in interpreting electoral laws.
