All Progressives Congress (APC), the President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu and INEC on Thursday opposed an application for live television coverage of proceedings in a petition filed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Alhaji Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the presidential election of Feb. 25 filed the petition to challenge the declaration of Tinubu of the APC as winner by INEC.
Abubakar, the first runner-up at the election filed his petition at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
The Vice-President-elect, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, another respondent, also opposed the application for live television coverage of the proceedings.
Arguing separately when the matter was called at the PEPC, the respondents said live telecast of proceedings could ridicule the traditional solemn nature of court proceedings.
Opposing Abubakar’s motion, counsel for INEC, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), said the court proceedings were already open to the public.
“There is an implicit suggestion in the application that unless the proceeding is televised, it is not public.
“This is not true as the courtroom is a public place and it is accessible to all, subject to availability of space,’’ he submitted.
On Abubakar’s submission in the motion that there was no statutory legislation preventing live television coverage, Mahmoud said live streaming was different from televising live.
He added that live streaming was controlled by the court and no live cameras were allowed into the court room.
He also argued that live telecast would make nonsense of the court proceedings since the courtroom was not a market place for theatrics.
He submitted that lawyers did not need to be under any more pressure than they already were with cameras in their faces.
The INEC counsel prayed the court to refuse the application as it was unnecessary, uncalled for and would defeat the essence of the administration of justice.
