The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, yesterday read the riot act to judicial officers, politicians, lawyers and other stakeholders, warning against turning the courts into political battlegrounds through intimidation, misinformation, conflicting orders and abuse of judicial processes.

The CJN declared that election petitions must be decided strictly on the strength of evidence and applicable laws, rather than political pressure, public sentiment or the popularity of candidates, insisting that the judiciary would not tolerate attempts to undermine its independence or manipulate judicial proceedings.

Her warning came as 375 judicial officers were sworn in to serve on election petition tribunals across the country, while the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, called for a special code of conduct for lawyers handling electoral disputes to curb professional misconduct.

At the same event, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, raised the alarm over the growing threat of deepfake videos, artificial intelligence-generated disinformation and manipulated electronic evidence, warning that the technologies could complicate election petitions and threaten political stability. The officials spoke at the swearing-in ceremony and opening of a three-day capacity-building workshop for Justices of the Court of Appeal and election petition tribunal members, themed “Election Tribunal as a Tool for Political Stability,” at the Body of Benchers Complex, Abuja.

Addressing the newly inaugurated judicial officers, Kekere-Ekun warned politicians, political parties, public officials and social media users against attempts to influence judicial decisions through public statements, intimidation, deliberate misinformation and campaigns designed to undermine the credibility of the courts.

“The judicial process is not a continuation of the electoral campaign by other means,” she declared, stressing that the volume of public opinion or the popularity of a candidate could not substitute for credible evidence before a court of law.

The CJN maintained that election petitions must be determined on the basis of pleadings, evidence and the relevant provisions of the Constitution and electoral laws, warning influential persons against prejudging cases or making inflammatory statements capable of heightening political tension.

“Misinformation, intimidation and attempts to prejudice pending proceedings have no place in a society governed by the rule of law,” she said. Kekere-Ekun also expressed concern over the increasing use of social media to attack judicial officers and influence public perception of pending cases, urging media organisations to exercise restraint and professionalism in reporting judicial proceedings.

She condemned the filing of multiple suits and appeals on the same subject matter, the procurement of conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction and the use of ex parte applications to secure tactical advantages in political disputes.

According to her, such practices “can bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” and legal practitioners must resist the temptation to turn the judicial process into “another instrument of political contest.”

The CJN reminded the tribunal members that their duty was not to determine the political preferences of Nigerians but to resolve disputes arising from elections in accordance with the law, irrespective of the personalities or political interests involved.

She urged them to remain “firm where firmness is required, patient where patience is necessary, and impartial in every circumstance,” stressing that public confidence in the judiciary would depend largely on their conduct and the integrity of their decisions.

In his remarks, Amupitan warned that the 2027 elections could expose tribunals to sophisticated forms of digital manipulation capable of distorting evidence, misleading voters and creating confusion over election results.

He said threats to electoral integrity had moved beyond ballot snatching and physical intimidation to the use of artificial intelligence to impersonate election officials, circulate fabricated announcements and manufacture false evidence of electoral malpractice.

The INEC chairman identified three major threats, including AI-generated messages falsely announcing the relocation or cancellation of polling units, deepfake audio and video recordings circulated during the statutory broadcast blackout before voting, and cloned videos of Returning Officers falsely declaring election results before collation had been concluded.

He warned that fabricated recordings could subsequently be presented before election tribunals as evidence of malpractice, while genuine recordings could be dismissed as artificial intelligence-generated materials.

Amupitan described the latter phenomenon as the “Liar’s Dividend,” saying it could make the authentication of electronic evidence increasingly difficult and undermine confidence in judicial decisions.

He urged tribunal members to apply rigorous evidential standards under Section 84 of the Evidence Act, including verification of digital provenance, proper forensic chains of custody and reliance on certified electoral records obtained from INEC.