He stated that while he remained committed to judicial independence, there was an urgent need to address what he described as a jurisdictional flaw affecting the tribunal’s legitimacy.
The petitioner in Petition No. FCT/ACET/EP/01/2026, Dr. Paul Moses Ogidi, has called for the suspension of judgment in the case pending before the Area Council Election Petition Tribunal, alleging a fundamental defect in the tribunal’s composition.
In a statement dated June 9, 2026, Ogidi said his attention had been drawn to plans by the tribunal to deliver judgment in the matter between him and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and two others.
He stated that while he remained committed to judicial independence, there was an urgent need to address what he described as a jurisdictional flaw affecting the tribunal’s legitimacy.
According to him, “we consider it our duty to alert Nigerians and the international community to a fundamental jurisdictional defect that remains unresolved and which directly affects the competence of the Tribunal to validly proceed with, let alone determine, this Petition.”
