On Monday, Justice John Tsoho, the Chief Judge (CJ) of the Federal High Court (FHC), stated that the Court was not consulted in the process that led to the enactment of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2022 by the National Assembly. This statement was made by the CJ of the FHC.
Justice Tsoho made the revelation as he was giving a speech during a special court session to mark the beginning of the Court's 2022/2023 Legal Year in Abuja. The event was held to celebrate the occasion.
According to Justice Tsoho, the new Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2022 has given the FHC extra authority over certain matters.
According to him, the Federal High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the hearing and determination of pre-election complaints because of Section 29 (5) and Section 84(14) of the Act. These provisions give the court authority to hear and rule on such complaints.
"Section 285 (10) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which says that such pre-election proceedings must be finalised within 180 days from the day that the complaint was filed, is connected to that jurisdiction. This provision states that such matters must be resolved.
"This is despite the fact that the judges already have "high-volume" dockets, which create a significant amount of difficulty.
"It is vital to bring on record that the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2022 was enacted without any consultation with the Court. This fact must be brought to your attention.
Additionally, he stated, "absolutely no support of any kind was provided in order to address the increasing responsibilities."
The Chief Justice stated that this had a significant impact on the Court's day-to-day functioning.
"I must swiftly say that this "disruption," which occurred without consultation, did not affect our essential core beliefs as a court, which are centered on rising to difficulties and confronting them head-on.
He remarked that the realization of this "underpins our resolve to soar in the face of hardship."