Adegboruwa SAN Faults Tribunal’s Silence On INEC Lapses, Fears Reversal Of Electoral Reforms

Legal luminary Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa SAN believes the presidential election tribunal missed a pivotal chance to spur electoral reforms by overlooking INEC’s failures in the recent landmark verdict.

In an interview with PUNCH following the tribunal’s dismissal of Atiku and Obi’s petitions, Adegboruwa agreed the outcome aligned with precedents on issues like candidate nomination. However, he argued the justices should have chastised INEC for not electronically transmitting results despite its mandate.

By endorsing INEC’s process lapses, Adegboruwa contends the tribunal judgment reversed all the gains from amended electoral laws expanding e-voting. He hopes the Supreme Court will correct this oversight he feels constitutes a disservice to Nigeria’s democracy.

While admitting petitioners faced an extremely high burden of proof, the senior advocate feels INEC’s lack of cooperation and withholding of evidence undermined their efforts. He advocates shifting the burden to INEC to demonstrate proper conduct instead.

Overall, Adegboruwa believes the judgments focused excessively on technicalities rather than substantive flaws and misconduct by the electoral umpire. He recommends urgent reforms to unbundle INEC and enhance its independence from political interference.

The critique signals disappointment within the legal community over the tribunal’s missed opportunity to spur positive changes at INEC and strengthen Nigeria’s electoral system through its significant ruling.