Atiku Vs Buhari: The Tortuous Journey to Presidential Election Tribunal Judgment via thisdaylive
The legal battle at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal began on February 27, 2019, after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared candidate of the All Progressives Congress , General Muhammadu Buhari , as winner of the presidential election conducted on February 23, 2019.
Consequently, they lodged a formal complaint before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal set up to handle all grievances relating to the presidential polls. A pre-hearing session commenced on June 11 and ended on July 3 after parties had agreed on the modalities and structure of the trial, while the main trial commenced on July 4 with the petitioners tendering exhibits in support of their various claims.
Atiku in his petition specifically asked the tribunal to disqualify Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election, on the grounds that he did not possess the requisite academic qualification to contest for the office of President. While Buhari called in only 7 witnesses and tendered few documents in defence of his victory at the polls, INEC and the APC rather chose to rely on the testimonies made by the petitioners’ witnesses during their cross examination.
“Whether Buhari submitted to INEC affidavit containing false information of fundamental nature in aid of his qualification for the said election. In their 43 page final address, Atiku and PDP claimed to have established the fact that Buhari does not possess the requisite academic qualification for the position of President of Nigeria.
On the purported Cambridge University certificate tendered by Buhari before the tribunal, the petitioners asked why, “it was easier for Buhari to go all the way to Cambridge in the United Kingdom to obtain a bogus documents that his own witnesses said was not a certificate, instead of just driving down the street in Abuja to the Army Headquarters or placing a phone call to the Secretary of the Military Board in Abuja to hurry over with his certificate or certificates.
On the claim that his certificates were with the military, the petitioners submitted that Buhari failed woefully to prove the claim, “rather the petitioners’ evidence to the contrary was not contested nor challenged. They added that analysis of results from 11 states showed how INEC in connivance with Buhari and the All Progressives Congress wrongly and unlawfully credited Buhari with votes not valid or lawful.
In addition they said they have led evidence to show that INEC violated its own regulations and guidelines with respect to mandatory use of the smart card reader in the process of accreditation which according to them occasioned over voting thereby rendering the election null and void.However, Buhari on his part argued that he was more qualified to contest the polls than Atiku.
“The form CF001 which he claimed in paragraphs 18&19 of his reply to Buhari’s reply has not been tendered before this honourable court”. “Considering the feeble case presented by the petitioners before the court whether the court can decree that Atiku was duly and validly elected as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the presidential election held on February 23, 2019.”
According to Olanipekun, the petitioners witnesses rather than assist the petitioners, supported the respondent claim that he was qualified to have contested the election. “What else does one need to establish the fact that the respondent was/is eminently qualified to contest the election, than the evidence of PW1, a former close aide to the respondent who has confessed falling out with him”, he asked.
the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language to the satisfaction of INEC,Olanipekun submitted that apart from Buhari’s witnesses who all attested to his qualification to contest the poll, the petitioners’ witnesses during cross examination attested to the fact that Buhari addressed the nation in English Language when he was Military Head of State between 1983 and 1985 and when he was Head of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
In support of his claim that the petitioners fail to adduce any cognisable evidence in support of their petition, Buhari wondered why the petitioners called just five polling unit agents out of the 119,973 polling units they said were created for the general election. The senior lawyer stressed that since they have led evidence to show that Buhari lied on oath in his form CF001 submitted to INEC for clearance to contest the February 23 presidential election, the tribunal should uphold the petition and grant the reliefs contained therein.
“At any rate the Secretary of the Nigerian Army Board, Olatunde Olaleye, had in a statement clarified that Buhari had no single certificate in his personal file with the Nigerian Army”. Atiku’s lawyer in the final address debunked the claim of INEC that collation and transmission of results electronically was prohibited by law in Nigeria.
Usman insisted that INEC did not transmit election results electronically because doing so was prohibited by law and that the Commission did not call any witness because there was no need to do so.
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