By Lawrence Agbo
Lawyer and policy analyst, Fred Nzeako, has criticised the increasing dependence on the courts to settle political disputes in Nigeria, insisting that elections should be decided by voters at the ballot box rather than by judges in courtrooms.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Nzeako reflected on recent Supreme Court decisions involving internal disputes in major opposition parties such as the Peoples Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress.
He argued that political actors have increasingly turned to litigation instead of resolving disputes through party structures and democratic participation.
According to him, this trend weakens internal party discipline and shifts the focus of elections away from the people who should ultimately decide leadership through voting.
“Elections should be lost and won at the ballot, not on the bench,” he said, stressing that excessive court battles undermine the essence of democracy.
Nzeako also questioned the handling of some pre-election disputes, especially the interpretation of legal directives involving party leadership and nominations.
He said the Independent National Electoral Commission had made errors in its understanding of legal instructions, particularly regarding the principle of status quo ante bellum, which contributed to unnecessary complications.
He maintained that some of the appeals filed in the disputes were avoidable and should never have gone beyond the Federal High Court.
According to him, parties and institutions rushed to higher courts when they should have first allowed the lower court to complete its process.
“There was nothing to appeal. You were only asked to come and show cause; you do not have to run to the Court of Appeal,” he said.
He explained that the Court of Appeal had no authority to halt proceedings at the Federal High Court in such circumstances and noted that the Supreme Court later corrected that mistake.
Nzeako also pointed to institutional lapses involving multiple stakeholders, including political parties, INEC and the judiciary, saying such errors create confusion and weaken public trust in the electoral system.
He said the repeated use of courts to interpret party leadership and internal decisions was damaging democratic development and making political parties overly dependent on judicial intervention.
