The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Friday, expressed grave concerns over increasing interference by courts in the internal affairs of political parties.
In a statement signed by NBA President Afam Osigwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the association said the actions, including those of lawyers who file suits inviting the courts to make pronouncements on such issues, violate the provisions of the Electoral Act.
“This emerging trend of subverting the clear letters of the Electoral Act and dragging courts into the internal affairs of political parties through disingenuous litigation, forum shopping, and mala fide applications designed to secure undemocratic political advantage, bodes no good for our democracy,” the statement said.
“Such practices, if not immediately curbed, would directly contradict the clear intendment of the Electoral Act and risk transforming the judicial processes into avenues for political score-settling or electoral manipulation.”
The statement did not cite any instance of court’s intrusion into parties’ internal affairs, but it comes on the heels of a recent Court of Appeal’s ruling on the leadership disputes within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
(Premium Times)
