Presidential Tribunal: Atiku heads to Supreme Court
The presidential candidate of the people’s democratic party (PDP) is set to challenge the court of appeal ruling at the supreme court.
The court of appeal on Wednesday struck out petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
The People Democratic Party Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had approached the court to challenge the victory of President Buhari in the February 23 Presidential election.
Leading the five-person judge, justice Garba started by dismissing petitions filed by INEC.
The first INEC petition struck out was on the ground that Atiku, PDP (petitioners), didn’t add Yemi Osinbajo, The vice-presidential candidate of the APC to the petition.
The five-person tribunal, however, unanimously struck out the petition.
Presidential Tribunal: Atiku heads to Supreme Court
The second was on the ground that the lead counsel to the petitioners, Livy Uzoukwu, was not in the list of lawyers at the chief registrar of the supreme court and shouldn’t practice law in Nigeria.
Justice Garba however, ruled that Livy Uzoukwu’s name is on the rolls of the Supreme Court as a competent lawyer.
The third and fourth petition that was ruled on was a motion filed by INEC that some of the petitions constitute a pre-election matter.
INEC said the allegations that Buhari gave false information on the CF001 form submitted to INEC, or have the required qualification constitute a pre-election matter.
The tribunal upheld INEC’s motion that the required qualification is a pre-election issue.
The tribunal, however, found no merit in the applicant’s motion that Buhari gave false information in the affidavit submitted to INEC.
Ruling on the fifth petition, the INEC said the petitioners’ paragraphs 148 to 200, 260, and 261 should be struck down because they are nebulous, vague or imprecise.
The tribunal said the paragraphs are not nebulous, vague or imprecise and cannot be struck down as requested, dismissing the fifth prayer.
The tribunal upheld INEC’s 7 and 8 motions for containing allegations of crime, corrupt practices, violence against those that could not defend themselves.
The tribunal held that the evidence from the 62 witnesses did not help the petitioners’ case, and couldn’t prove that president Buhari was not duly elected.
