Abstract

Election has always ended in controversy or litigation in Nigeria from 1923 when the first election was held till 2007 general elections, candidates and political parties on both side have always abused, mocked or outrightly filed petitions against the victorious candidate and party in the court (tribunal). This is the kernel of this paper which analyses the news coverage of 2007 presidential election petitions tribunal in Nigeria. Using data gathered during the litigation within which the presidential election petitions trial lasted, four questions were investigated: What was the frequency of coverage of the presidential election petitions proceedings? What was the prominence given to the proceedings? How balanced was the tone of coverage of the presidential election petitions by the selected newspapers? Why is it that presidential election petitions fail in the court? A content analysis of coverage of the presidential election petitions by the sampled newspapers suggests that they generously covered the stories, and gave it prominence without prejudice to either the plaintiffs (petitioners) or the defendant. The findings are discussed in the light of knowledge about gate keeping, agenda-setting and frame effects. One interesting thing about these litigations over the years is that despite the hue and cry that attended declaration of presidential election results; election petitions have never been successful to invalidate results of presidential elections. This is a major concern for which this paper has been able to thrash.

Key Words: Presidential Election, Petitions, Court, Nigeria, Content Analysis, Newspaper Coverage

*    Ifedayo Daramola, Ph.D. is the Head of Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2018    90 – 102