SPECIALISED COMMUNICATION: A GENRE- BASED ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIES IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL JUDGMENTS BY THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v13.i8.2025.6338Keywords:
Genre Analysis, Presidential Election Petitions, Legal Discourse, Halliday's Gsp, Nigerian JurisprudenceAbstract [English]
This study examines the specialized communication patterns in Nigerian Presidential Election Petition Tribunal judgments through a genre-based analysis framework. Using Halliday's Generic Structure Pattern (GSP) as the theoretical foundation, the research analyzes the linguistic features, rhetorical strategies, and structural elements that characterize this specialized legal discourse. The study focuses on the 2023 Presidential Election Petition cases, particularly the Supreme Court judgment in Atiku v. INEC (No. 2) [2023] 19 NWLR, to identify recurring patterns and develop a comprehensive GSP equation for this genre. The findings reveal a systematic structure comprising both obligatory and optional elements that serve specific communicative functions within the Nigerian legal system. This research contributes to the understanding of legal discourse in post-colonial contexts and provides insights into how specialized communication operates within institutional frameworks.
Downloads
References
Adebayo, A. (2015). Language and Law in Nigeria: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Ibadan University Press.
Agbakoba, O., & Ogbonna, H. (2004). Electoral Reforms and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria. Human Rights Law Service.
Agbeleoba, S. O. (2018). A Generic Structural Potential Analysis of Selected Inaugural Presidential Speeches. EKSU Studies in Language and Literature (ESILL), 6(1), 133–141.
Agbeleoba, S. O., & Bamisaye, T. (2022). A Generic Structure Analysis of Selected News Commentaries on Radio Nigeria. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 11(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.11n.1p.59 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.11n.1p.59
Bhatia, V. K. (1993). Analysing Genre: Language use in Professional Settings. Longman.
Bhatia, V. K. (2004). Worlds of Written Discourse: A Genre-Based View. Continuum.
Daniel, F. O. (2021). A Genre Analysis of Selected Substance-Based Judgments of the Nigerian Supreme Court. Covenant Journal of Language Studies, 9(2), 45–67.
Elias, T. O. (1972). The Nigerian Legal System. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Goodrich, P. (1987). Legal Discourse: Studies in Linguistics, Rhetoric and Legal Analysis. Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11283-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08818-8_4
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (2nd ed.). Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1985). Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective. Deakin University Press.
Hasan, R. (1984). The Nursery Tale as a Genre. Nottingham Linguistic Circular, 13, 71–102.
Heffer, C. (2005). The Language of Jury Trial: A Corpus-Aided Analysis of Legal-Lay Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230502888_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230502888
Jinadu, L. A. (2007). Elections and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria. Nigerian Political Science Association.
Maley, Y. (1994). The Language of the Law. In J. Gibbons (Ed.), Language and the law (pp. 11–50). Longman.
Nwobike, J. (2008). Electoral Violence and Nigeria's Democratic Consolidation. Africa Spectrum, 43(2), 135–150.
Opeibi, T. (2012). Language Countertrading in Courtroom Exchanges in Nigeria: A Discursive Study. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 1(4), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.7575/ijalel.v.1n.5p.49 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/ijalel.v.1n.5p.49
Osinbajo, Y. (2001). The Nigerian Legal System: Text and Cases. Princeton & Associates.
Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC). (2024). From Ballot to the Courts: Analysis of Election Petition Litigation from Nigeria's 2023 General Elections. Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre.
Pramoolsook, I., & Dalimunte, A. A. (2020). Systemic Functional Linguistics—Legal Genres and Their Configurations in the Islamic Law and Jurisprudence Textbooks at a University in Indonesia. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 9(3), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.803913 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.803913
Suberu, R. T. (2015). Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria. United States Institute of Peace Press.
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge University Press.
Tiersma, P. M. (2008). Legal Language. University of Chicago Press.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Samuel Oyeyemi Agbeleoba, Ph.D, Olaitan Eunice Feyisara, Ph.D, Kemisola Akanle, Ph.D
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
