Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A public policy analyst and researcher, Arome Agenyi, has attributed the persistent challenges facing Nigeria's electoral process to a combination of weak institutions, including a judiciary that entertains frivolous litigation and an electoral commission that struggles to enforce its own guidelines. Agenyi, the Executive Director of the Centre for Learning and Development, made the remarks while reacting to recent statements by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, who had lamented the overwhelming number of court cases undermining the commission's preparations for the 2027 general elections.
According to Agenyi, the Nigerian judiciary is expected to do more to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. He argued that even an average Nigerian who is not a legal practitioner can see that some of the cases that end up in court should never have made it past the filing stage. "The fact that they were entertained in the first place is part of the problem," Agenyi said. His comments reflect a growing frustration among civil society actors and political observers who have watched the courts become a battleground for political disputes, often with contradictory rulings that create more confusion than clarity.
Agenyi's critique comes at a time when Nigeria's judiciary is under increasing scrutiny over its role in electoral disputes. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana recently warned that conflicting court judgments could sabotage the 2027 elections. Similarly, legal scholar Sam Amadi has blamed the courts for deepening instability within political parties through weak interpretations and a lack of clarity in their rulings. The Kwankwasiyya Movement has also expressed concern over what it described as a "dangerous trajectory" of a weakened judiciary marked by inconsistency.
The policy analyst's remarks align with broader concerns about the capacity of Nigeria's democratic institutions to withstand the pressures of electoral politics. The country's judiciary has been described in academic literature as weak, unable to act independently or apply the law equally to all members of society. This weakness, combined with INEC's own struggles to enforce its guidelines and resist political interference, has created an environment where electoral outcomes are often determined not at the ballot box but in the courtroom.
As Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, the debate over the role of the judiciary in the electoral process is likely to intensify. Agenyi's call for a more rigorous judicial approach to electoral matters echoes the sentiments of many who believe that the courts must exercise greater restraint in entertaining cases that lack merit. For now, the challenge remains: how to build institutions strong enough to withstand the pressures of political ambition and ensure that elections are decided by voters, not by judges.
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