EU, ECOWAS reports on Nigerian elections have no judicial value, says senior judge
Moses Ugo, a judge of Nigeria's second highest court, the Court of Appeal, said this while reading his ruling as a member of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which last Wednesday dismissed appeals from three of the country's opposition parties against the election of Bola Tinubu.
Although the European Union (EU) and ECOWAS delegations are accredited to observe Nigeria's elections, their reports on the elections are 'valueless' and 'inadmissible' in Nigerian courts, a senior judge ruled on Wednesday.
Moses Ugo, a judge of Nigeria's second highest court, the Court of Appeal, said this while reading his ruling as a member of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which last Wednesday dismissed appeals from three of the country's opposition parties against the election of Bola Tinubu.
While declaring support for his fellow judges on the panel, Mr Ugo spoke on why the EU and ECOWAS reports which criticised parts of the 2023 presidential election were inadmissible in court.
He noted that the said the EU report tendered by both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was inadmissible since the makers of the report did not present themselves in court to face cross-examination to authenticate their opinions.
“The impression given by both petitioners is that the said report is like the gospel truth of what happened in the election and so must be accepted by this court and the conduct of the presidential election declared corrupt or at the very least declared below par regardless of whether or not the authors of the said report presented themselves in court to defend their opinions.
“The EUEOM report on the 2023 presidential elections... and I dare to add even the ECOWAS report of the same elections tendered by second and third respondents is completely valueless and inadmissible,” the judge ruled.
The EU-EOM, in its final report on Nigeria's 2023 presidential poll, said though the elections showed the commitment of the country's people to democracy, it also exposed enduring systemic weaknesses and therefore signalled a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.
