Based on the directives, only judges in the divisions of Lagos and Abuja will now hear and decide all pending cases coming from the verdicts of the various state election petition tribunals.

The order affects gubernatorial, national and state assemblies’ elections.

The directive by Dongban-Mensem for only two of the 20 divisions of the court to determine all appellate cases arising from tribunal disputes is said to have been informed by the plethora of petitions and protests by political parties and their candidates, who allege that the judges of the tribunals were heavily compromised by the governors during the trial stage in their respective states.

The Court of Appeal President was said to have carried out discreet investigations into the allegations against the governors and the judges of the trial tribunal and established the existence of some ‘unholy alliances’ which might have led to a miscarriage of justice at the tribunals.

According to reports, some of the tribunal judges were indicted, and the National Judicial Council (NJC) may bring them to trial.

Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi, who represents the Warri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was quoted by TVC as saying that he supported the move as long as it would provide fair and impartial judgments.

However, he made notice of the potential financial costs associated with the transfer of the cases.

“We have the notice transferring the cases from Delta State to Lagos and we have complied. Its financial implications are huge but no sacrifice is too much to get a fair and impartial judgement,” Ereyitomi said.