Ekiti Election Tribunal solicits lawyers’ cooperation, charges journalists to be objective

Justice Suleiman Belgore, the Chairman, Ekiti Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, on Monday, urged counsel to parties involved in the matter to be diligent and assist the tribunal through necessary evidences to facilitate the early completion of the matter.
Belgore, who is the Chairman of the three-member panel, said this in his inaugural speech to herald the commencement of the pre-hearing of the petition at the High Court premises in Ado-Ekiti.
The tribunal chairman also cautioned journalists to be objective in the reportage of the court proceedings, stressing that any attempt to subvert the truth would attract heavy judicial penalties.
He warned that the tribunal would not condone any illegal act, which could put its proceedings into jeopardy
and ultimately affect the stipulated period of its sittings as embedded in the constitution as amended.
In their separate remarks, counsels to parties promised to cooperate with the tribunal considering the sensitive nature of the petition.
Ekiti State High Court, the venue of the tribunal sitting, was cordoned off by stern-looking mobile policemen at the entrance of the gate, screening entrants.
There was, however, a mild drama some meters away from the court premises as officials of the Nigeria Prisons Service had to fire gunshots to clear the premises for their vehicles conveying accused persons from the court.
Crowd of loyalists of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had converged at the entrance of the court premises but those with no business to be in the court were denied entry.