Appeal court president inaugurates 375 judges for election tribunals

President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Dongban-Mensem

The President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Dongban-Mensem, on Monday, inaugurates 375 judges to serve on panels of election petitions tribunals across the country for the 2027 general elections.

During the swearing-in, which took place at the Body of Benchers complex in Abuja, Ms Dongban-Mensem said 138 of the judges are returning members, and 237 will be serving on election petitions tribunals for the first time.

The inauguration of the judicial officers, drawn from various courts across Nigeria, took place during a three-day workshop to prepare them for the election petition duties expected to take off after the next years elections. The workshop is themed, “Election Tribunal as a Tool for Political Stability.”

The Court of Appeal, which serves as the secretariat for election matters, also launched the Judicial Electoral Manual (JEM) 2026 during the workshop.

This comes ahead of the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to take place across Nigeria on 16 January, and the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections fixed for 6 February.

The judges have yet to be designated to serve on particular tribunals.

Candidates who are displeased with the outcomes of the electons have the rights to approach the various election petitions tribunals to challenge

The Court of Appeal serves as the court of first instance for presidential election petitions, which belong to a class of their own. The Court of Appeal president is expected to constitute a five-member panel of the Court of Appeal to sit on the presidetial election petitoins after the poll.

While appeal against the judgement on presidential election petitions is filed at the Supreme Court, the appeals against election tribunals’ decisions for other election disputes are filed at the Court of Appeal. While the Court of Appeal is the final court on the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly election disputes, the Supreme Court is the terminal court for governorship disputes.

During Monday’s ceremoney, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, acknowledged that election petitions tribunals usually come under pressure in the course of their work.

However, she urged them to make their judicial oaths their compass.

“Be firm where firmness is required, patient where patience is necessary, and impartial in every circumstance. Do not allow the weight of public expectation to distract you from the duty to do justice according to law,” she added.

She added that the responsibility for credible elections does not rest with the judiciary alone, while admonishing the Indepependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security operatives to play their parts diligently.

Also, Ms Dongban-Mensem also admonished the election petition tribunal judges to take their jobs as a call to service.

“Resist every attempt at improper influence, whether through political pressure, inducement, intimidation, personal relationships or other considerations extraneous to the administration of justice,” she said.

He admonished them to avoid unnecessary adjournments, while ensuring that fairness is not sacrificed on the alter of speed.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, advised the judges to discharge their duties effectively, devoid of “sentiment, partisan interests, media scrutiny, social media buzzing or the expectations of influential individuals and groups.”

He urged them to avoid erroneous decisions because “it may take another four years to correct.”

Mr Fagbemi also applauded the selection and deployment of court registrars to serve as the registrars of the various election tribunals.

Similarly, INEC chairperson, Joash Amupitan, urged the election petitions tribunals to balance procedural procedural speed, with rigour, and impartiality, to ensure de-escalation of conflict, institutional accountability and preservation of the social contract.

He said the election tribunals are not just an arbiter but also an “active engine of national stability and constitutional order.”

The Judicial Electoral Manual 2026 was designed to address the fallouts of the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2026, and the provisions of the Election Judicial Proceedings Practice Directions, 2026.

It is aimed at providing judicial officers with an accessible reference resource for balancing the legal and procedural complexities of election petitions.

Mr Dongban-Mensem encouraged the judicial officers to read the manual and apply it appropriately.

Also speaking on the manual, the CJN it for its innovative provisions, but noted that it should not replace independent judicial reasoning.

Mr Amupitan urged the judiciary to take cognisance of the technological developments that have changed the traditional voting process.

Apart from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), he identified the challenges with Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloning, deepfake video generation, and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

He called on the election tribunal judges to be wary of “malicious actors” who “will attempt to disrupt the electoral process.”

He added, “AI-generated audio or text messages impersonating election officials, claiming that polling units in specific strongholds are relocated or cancelled to suppress voter turnout.

“Deepfake audio or video drops released during statutory broadcast blackouts hours before polls open, impersonating candidates or electoral officials confessing to fraudulent deals, exploiting the timeframe when official rebuttals struggle to gain traction.

“Cloned videos of Returning Officers falsely declaring premature election results in battleground constituencies to trigger civil unrest before official collation concludes.

“This digital threat environment will inevitably spill into the courtrooms.”

He encouraged the Tribunal to confront these.

“Demonstrating digital provenance, forensic chain of custody, and reliance on certified data directly from INEC will be vital to prevent synthetic digital fabrications from misleading the courts.”