FACT
The Appellants were the Petitioner at the trial Governorship Election Petition Tribunal Holden at Enugu. On 6th June 2023, the Appellants, before filing their Reply to the Petition, applied for issuance of Pre-hearing Notice and served same on the 5th & 6th Respondents. On 8th June 2023, the Appellants filed their Reply but failed to apply for issuance of another Pre-hearing Notice within seven (7) after filing their Reply. Consequent upon this, the trial tribunal dismissed the Petition as having been abandoned for failure to apply for the issuance of Pre Hearing Notice in compliance with Paragraph 18(1) of the 1st schedule to the Electoral Act 2022, and aborted the pre-hearing session that was to commence. The tribunal also ruled that the application for issuance of Pre-hearing Notice served before filing their Reply to the Petition was premature and therefore, incompetent. Dissatisfied with the preliminary determination of the Petition, the Appellants appealed to the Court of Appeal, which court affirmed the decision of the tribunal and dismissed the appeal. The Appellants appealed further to the Supreme Court.
