ABSTRACT
Democracy is a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. In Nigerian the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the electoral umpire who has right to conduct free credible elections and declare a winner, had often fallen below expectation of the electorates. This has led to losers and aggrieved parties to resort to court adjudication to seek legal redress.
The Court in Nigeria is constitutional empowered by section 6 of 1999 Constitution (as amended) in matters of judicial adjudication and free access to court in an independent judiciary. The constitution as amended gave assurance to aggrieved parties that there is free access to courts guided by rule of law. The judiciary is the last hope of the common man, their expectations are dashed by judicial corruption, lack of judicial independence, and lack of transparent electoral process. Lack of integrity or even actual corruption with the criminal justice institution mandated to safeguard the rule of law is not healthy for democratic consolidation. The judiciary, while playing their constitutional role, like every human institution, have had their own criticisms.
This study also examines the jurisdiction of Election Petition Tribunal, the grounds for challenging an election conduct and result, as well as the content of Election petition. The work examined the case against the judiciary in the adjudication of election petitions in Nigeria. This study further examines the factors limiting the integrity of the judiciary in election petition matters in Nigeria. The work identified judicial corruption, lack of independence of the judiciary, political thuggery, loopholes in the Electoral Act and defect in the selection of judicial officers for election tribunals as some of the factors limiting judicial integrity in election matters.
