By Abdulwahab abdulah
Prominent lawyers and academicians, weekend, locked horns over controversies trailing the establishment of a special court to prosecute election offenders ahead of the forthcoming general elections in the country.

The prominent Nigerians, including retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Adesola Oguntade; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Mr. Femi Falana; Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Prof.  Yomi Akinyeye, Dean, Faculty of Law, UNILAG, and Prof Oyelowo Oyewo, took different positions on whether or not  government should immediately constitute a special court to try election offenders, including those that benefit from rigged election process.

Fayemi, who delivered a lecture on Electoral Challenges and the Judiciary: Whither Democracy in Nigeria?” at the 7th Annual Gani Fawehinmi Symposium organised by Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Ikeja branch, called for the creation of a special court to try the offenders to create sanity in the electoral process of the country.

The Governor said to make progress in the electioneering process, those found to subvert electoral integrity in the country must be punished.

However, Prof. Oyewo, who was one of the discussants, said it was not the establishment of the court that will solve the problem, but the monitoring of the institutions in charge of the elections and crimes.