NBA Criticises Courts, Lawyers’ Involvement in Party Affairs Violating the Electoral Act
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has expressed concern over the involvement of courts and legal professionals in the internal matters of political parties. This interference goes against the...
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has expressed concern over the involvement of courts and legal professionals in the internal matters of political parties. This interference goes against the provisions of the recently signed Electoral Act 2026, and the NBA believes it further threatens the nation’s democracy.
The National President of the NBA, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), announced this in an official statement addressing the current legal disputes affecting the internal affairs of certain political parties within the country, arising from recent legal submissions by various lawyers and subsequent court rulings.
The NBA president said the body of the legal practitioners has been monitoring the event in the past days and stated that it is violating the Electoral Act 2026, thereby raising “serious constitutional, democratic, and rule-of-law concerns that require immediate intervention.”
Mr Osigwe maintained that while the provision of the electoral law stipulates that courts should not listen to matters about the internal affairs of the political parties, and that even if such matters are brought, still, the court must not grant any injunctions on the said matter, some courts are already granting such injunctions at the behest of some lawyers who have been approaching them.
“We particularly deprecate the disturbing involvement by lawyers and courts in the internal affairs of political parties despite the clear provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulates in Section 83 of the Act that “No court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party.”
“Not only are courts denied jurisdiction to entertain any matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party, but they are also precluded from granting any interim or interlocutory injunction even where any action has been brought in violation of the Act. The section further provides that “Where such an action is brought in negation of this provision, no interim or interlocutory injunction shall be entertained by the Court, but the Court shall suspend its ruling and deliver it at the stage of final judgement and shall give an accelerated hearing to the matter.”
“What we now see are situations where actions are not only instituted in courts by lawyers in clear violation of the Act, but courts purportedly grant interim and/or interlocutory injunctions in clear contempt of statutory provisions of the law. This does not augur well for our democracy. Democracy will not thrive in a situation where lawyers and courts take actions and decisions that not only negate our laws but also do violence to them.”
Lamenting on this matter, the NBA president described the attempt to bend the electoral act as posing a risk to the country’s electioneering process as politicians abuse the judicial process by turning the court to places where they can get an undemocratic advantage, political score-settling or electoral manipulation, and selective deployment of these provisions may create opportunities for manipulation capable of undermining democratic competition and shrinking the political space.
As a result, the NBA reminded the lawyers who are being used to file legal actions which contravene the stipulation of the law that they are supposed to be officers of the court and not agents used by politicians to draw courts into internal political party disputes, particularly where jurisdiction is expressly excluded, noting that it constitutes an abuse of court process and a violation of professional responsibility.
Warning the members of the body of benchers who are violating that standard of the law, Mr Osigwe threatened that the NBA will take firm steps to deter such conduct. “Lawyers who deliberately file actions aimed at procuring judicial interference in intra-party affairs, or who seek ex parte or interlocutory orders in clear violation of statutory provisions, risk facing disciplinary proceedings. We will not hesitate to present petitions before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) against any legal practitioner found to be engaging in such conduct. This will be pursued decisively to serve as a deterrent and to preserve the sanctity of the judicial process.
“The Nigerian judiciary must stay vigilant and resist being drawn into political theatrics. Courts should firmly decline invitations, no matter how artfully crafted, to intervene in matters the law explicitly bars them from. When statutes limit judicial meddling in party affairs, judges must show restraint, adhere to the law, and focus on cases properly before them.”
He also appealed to the National Judicial Council to make regulations that will sanction Judges who deliberately violate the provisions of the law by granting orders that enable the interference into the internal affairs of the political parties.
Calling the electoral body, the NBA urged the INEC and its chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to maintain neutrality and its independence by not getting involved or participating in political engineering or as an institution whose regulatory authority is deployed in a manner that weakens political pluralism.
“The Chairman of INEC, being a distinguished Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is uniquely positioned to appreciate the constitutional implications of these developments. The NBA expects that the Commission, under his leadership, will ensure that its actions reflect independence, fairness, and strict adherence to democratic norms. The Bar is closely watching the conduct of the Commission and expects that its regulatory role will strengthen, not diminish, confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
“The Bar will deploy all lawful mechanisms, engagement, advisory opinions, strategic litigation, and disciplinary processes to ensure that lawyers do not weaponise the legal process so that the judiciary is not misused. Lawyers must remain officers of the court, not architects of procedural manipulation. Nigeria’s democracy must not be weakened by legal manoeuvring, institutional capture, or the misuse of judicial authority. The courts must remain arbiters of justice, not instruments of political advantage. Electoral institutions must remain neutral umpires, not participants in political contests. The electoral institutions must operate within the bounds of constitutional democracy,” he concluded.
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