A primary was held, or was said to have been held, and the name forwarded to the Commission is not the name of the person who won it. A result has been declared and the figures announced at the collation centre do not match the figures on the result sheets. A candidate's nomination is challenged on the ground that a qualification was not held. Electoral matters have a feature that sets them apart from every other kind of litigation: the clock. The time within which each step must be taken is fixed by the Constitution, it runs whether or not anyone is ready, and it cannot be extended by consent or by the court.
The law
What the law provides
Elections in Nigeria are conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2022. Disputes divide into two categories, and they are governed differently.
Pre-election matters concern nomination, qualification, party primaries and the conduct of the political party before polling. They are commenced in the Federal High Court, the High Court of a State or the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. Section 285(9) of the Constitution requires such a suit to be filed within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, decision or action complained of, and section 285(10) requires it to be determined within 180 days of filing. An aspirant who took part in a primary may complain about its conduct; a person who did not take part generally cannot.
Post-election matters are election petitions, and they are heard by an election tribunal or, for the office of President, by the Court of Appeal sitting as the Presidential Election Petition Court. A petition must be presented within 21 days after the date of the declaration of the result. The tribunal must deliver judgment within 180 days of the date the petition was filed, an appeal must be filed within 60 days of that judgment, and the appeal must itself be determined within 60 days.
The grounds on which an election may be questioned are set out in the Electoral Act: that the person returned was not qualified at the time of the election; that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the Act; or that the respondent was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast.
Two further points decide a great many petitions. First, the burden is on the petitioner, and where non-compliance is alleged it must be shown both that non-compliance occurred and that it substantially affected the result. Second, proof is polling-unit by polling-unit: the courts have repeatedly declined to act on generalised assertions unsupported by the documents and the witnesses from the units concerned.
The process
What happens in practice
Preparation begins before the result is declared, not after. Certified true copies of the relevant forms and result sheets are applied for from the Commission, agents' reports are collected, and the units in issue are identified and mapped against the figures declared. A petition drafted without those documents in hand is a petition drafted against the clock.
The petition is presented within the 21-day window, with the schedule of documents and the list of witnesses required by the First Schedule to the Electoral Act. Replies and petitioner's replies follow within the short periods the Schedule allows. Pre-hearing sessions are held, issues are settled, and the matter proceeds to hearing.
At hearing, documents are tendered and witnesses called — commonly polling unit agents, ward collation agents and, where the case requires it, forensic or data witnesses. Because the electronic transmission and viewing of results now features in most petitions, the accreditation and transmission records are frequently central.
Judgment is delivered within the 180-day period. An appeal, if any, is filed within 60 days and determined within 60 days. Where the constitutional period expires, the proceedings lapse — there is no discretion to extend, and the courts have held so consistently.
Nothing in this description should be taken as an indication of the outcome or duration of any particular matter.
Our role
How the firm acts
We advise aspirants, candidates and political parties on qualification and nomination before the event, and we act in pre-election suits within the 14-day constitutional window, including challenges concerning the conduct of primaries and the submission of names to the Commission.
We prepare and present election petitions and act as respondents to them. That work includes applying for certified true copies of the electoral documents, assembling the polling-unit evidence, drafting the petition and its schedules, conducting the pre-hearing session, and appearing at hearing and on appeal.
We give the timetable in writing at the outset — the date the period began, the date each step falls due, and the date the constitutional period expires — because in electoral work the calendar is not administration, it is the case.
Questions
Questions clients commonly ask
How long do I have to file an election petition?
Twenty-one days after the date of the declaration of the result. The period is fixed by the Constitution. It cannot be extended by the tribunal, by consent of the parties, or on any ground of hardship, and a petition presented outside it is liable to be struck out without consideration of its merits.
What is the difference between a pre-election matter and a petition?
A pre-election matter concerns nomination, qualification or the conduct of a party primary, is filed in the High Court within 14 days of the event complained of, and must be determined within 180 days of filing. An election petition questions the election or the return itself, is filed within 21 days of the declaration of the result, and is heard by an election tribunal.
Is it enough to show that the rules were not followed?
No. Where an election is questioned for non-compliance, it must be shown both that non-compliance occurred and that it substantially affected the result. Irregularity that did not affect the outcome will not, on its own, disturb a return.
What documents will be needed?
Certified true copies of the relevant electoral forms and result sheets for the units in issue, the accreditation and transmission records, the agents' reports, and the details of the polling units complained of. These are applied for from the Commission and the application should be made immediately, because the period is already running.
Can a court order a fresh election?
A tribunal has power to nullify an election and order that a fresh one be conducted, among other orders open to it. Whether any particular order is made depends entirely on the ground established and the evidence, and nothing here should be read as suggesting a likely result.
Who can challenge a party primary?
Generally, an aspirant who took part in the primary complained of. A person who did not participate, and a person who is not a member of the party, will ordinarily face an objection on the ground that they have no standing to complain of how the party selected its candidate.
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