Challenges of Pre-Election Litigations in the Electoral Process of Nigeria: Rivers and Zamfara States’ Disputes in Perspective

Abstract

Pre-election litigations involving intra-party conflicts seem to have taken a front-burner in the electoral process of Nigeria, especially since the advent of the current democratic dispensation. Hitherto, at least going by a paucity of reported cases on intra-party conflicts, pre-election litigations between members of political party was a rarity. However, in the last few years there has been a phenomena upsurge in such matters with significant impact on the electoral process of the country. Using the recent decisions of the Supreme Court in pre-election litigations involving members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers and Zamfara States, this paper reviews the trajectory of intra-party pre-election litigations and advocates for a reinvention of previous Supreme Court jurisprudence which views such disputes as political questions for which courts should prudentially decline jurisdiction.