Lawyers handling election matters as well as Petitioners and Political Parties who have cases before Panel One at the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja, have lamented the gross slow pace in which the panel is handling the hearing of petitions before it.

They fear that if nothing is done at the moment that most of the cases before the Tribunal may not meet up the time frame set for the completion of the hearing of all election matters at the Tribunal.

The lawyers for both sides to the Petitions who spoke anonymously decried that the seeming delay in handling the matters at the Tribunal may affect the entire process of getting justice.

The Petitioners and Respondents complained that Panel One of the Tribunal in Abuja is very very slow, adding that it is not making the hearing of petitions easy either for Petitioners or Respondents because of the cost of bringing and keeping witnesses who are not given the opportunity to testify.

One of the lawyers said: “If the President of the Court of Appeal does not intervene, the Petitions in that Tribunal will lapse and the litigating parties may go broke. Worse hit are Petitioners who stand the risk of losing their cases for no fault on their part.

“Lawyers, petitioners, Respondents, litigants in that court are complaining. We all are complaining that the Tribunal is not moving fast with the hearing of the Petitions.”

They commended the other three panels and the Governorship panel for hearing cases fast. They noted that in the other panels, so many cases have closed and written addresses ordered and may soon be adopted.

They called on the President of the Court of Appeal to urgently either disband that panel and give the cases to other panels within the Rivers State three panels or bring in new people to take over from them.

They complained that the Tribunal should adjourn rulings, applications and objections to be delivered during judgement in order to allow parties to call their witnesses. “People are bringing 15, 20, 30 witnesses from Rivers State and keeping them without them giving evidence” fumed one of the parties.

“The President of the Court of Appeal should intervene urgently and save the situation,” they added. (Saturday Vanguard)

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