Call For Transparency: Retired Ambassador Appeals To Supreme Court For Cameras During Election Hearing

Retired Ambassador Joe Keshi has appealed to the Supreme Court to allow cameras into the court for the first time during the upcoming Presidential election hearing. The Labour Party (LP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) have all vowed to approach the court following the outcome of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, in which Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner amid outcry of rigging, suppression, and manipulation of votes by politicians across the country.

Keshi, who served as an ambassador to several countries including Togo, Ethiopia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Namibia, Sierra Leone, and the United States, believes that the Supreme Court should ensure transparency in the process this time. He made this appeal on Arise Television’s The Morning Show. Keshi stated that allowing cameras into the court for the first time will make the process transparent for the Nigerian people to follow. He emphasized that if the Supreme Court does the right thing, the Nigerian people will be satisfied with the judgement given, and the judges will be perceived as credible.

“The Supreme Court should do the right thing and for the Supreme Court to do the right thing, for their own sake,” he said. “For goodness sake, let them allow cameras into the court for the first time so that Nigerian people could follow the process so that at the end of the day whatever judgement they gave, Nigerians would be satisfied that they followed their process and followed all the evidence. I’m appealing to the judges to allow cameras into the court for the first time to witness so that Nigerians can listen to the evidence and be convinced that the judges are credible as we want them to be.”

With the LP, PDP, and NNPP threatening to approach the court, the need for transparency in the process cannot be overemphasized. Keshi’s call for cameras in the courtroom is a step towards ensuring that the hearing is open, fair, and just for all parties involved. It will also help to restore public confidence in the judiciary and promote transparency in the country's electoral process.