The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Adamu Kafarati, has directed judges to put a stop to the use of ex-parte orders in political cases.
An ex-parte order is a directive which a court could grant without necessarily hearing from both parties involved in a matter.
The directive, coming months before the 2019 general elections, is expected to have significant effects on the array of politically related cases expected to spring forth in the approaching electoral season.
Explaining the reason for the directive, Mr Kafarati said his decision was motivated by the need to curb the hiccups blamed on the courts from the actions of political gladiators.
“I have during this vacation issued a circular that interim orders ex-parte shall not be granted in any political cases brought before the court. I believe that controversies can be reduced when the court takes a decision after hearing all the parties especially in political cases,” he said.
The directive was given on Monday at the opening of the 2018/2019 legal year, following two months of vacation by the courts.
Before the commencement of this year’s vacation, a number of political cases were pending before the courts, while a few others joined in, during the vacation.
One of the cases was the suit filed in court following controversy that trailed the defection of Senate President Bukola Saraki from the ruling All Progressives Congress to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party.