The presidential tribunal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday has
reserved judgment on the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party
candidate in the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku is challenging the declaration of President Bola
Tinubu as the winner of the election.
Respondents in the suit are the Independent National
Electoral Commission, Bola Tinubu, and the All Progressives Party.
The tribunal, after adopting the parties’ final written
addresses, reserved judgment on the petition.
The Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Simon Tsammani, said
judgment would be delivered on the matter at a date to be communicated to all
the parties involved.
Atiku’s lead counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, while presenting his
final address said the fact that no presidential election had been nullified
should not be a reason there should not be one.
He insisted that the glitches experienced during the
transmission of results were deliberate to allow manipulation.
Uche insisted that Tinubu be disqualified on the strength of
the American Court judgment where he was made to forfeit $460,000 on narcotics
and money laundering-related offences.
He urged the tribunal to accord value to the European Union
report.
Uche, however, called on the tribunal to grant the reliefs
by the petitioner or in the alternative nullify the election and order a rerun.
APC’s counsel, Lateef Fagbemi argued that there is no
documentary or oral testimony from Chicago University denying Tinubu’s
studentship.
The forfeiture was a civil one and is not a disqualification
factor.
He said, “The forfeiture proceedings do not fit into the
prescription of qualification.
“It is not a disqualifying factor. No evidence of
arraignment or pleadings. It was a civil forfeiture proceeding.”
He also argued that the matter of the forfeiture happened 20
years ago, adding that, “without conceding our constitution is a forgiving
one.”
He also said a clear bill of health had been given by the
United States of America.
On the relief on dual citizenship of the president, Fagbemi
citing section 137 (1a) argued that said a citizen by birth cannot be
disqualified because he has citizenship of another country.
On his part, President Tinubu’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun
SAN, said that the petition be dismissed because the grievances of Atiku and
PDP are targeted at the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Olaonipekun urged the court to dismiss the petition for
lacking in merit, describing the petitioner as a meddlesome interloper.
He also said the FCT is the 37 states for the purpose of
election. The second respondent had 2/3 of one-quarter of the votes in Abuja.
INEC’s counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud said evidence adduced by
the petitioners themselves showed the good intentions of INEC to conduct a
credible election with the adoption of technology.
He said the petition failed woefully to establish that the
glitch on IReV was caused by human interference and that it affected the
outcome of the election.
He said, “On the transmission, we are not in disagreement
that there was a glitch. Where we differ is the source of the glitch.
“They failed woefully to establish that the glitch on IReV
was caused by human interference and that it affected the outcome of the
election.”
Mahmoud said the argument that winning 25 per cent of votes
in the FCT is a requirement for winning the election “is absurd”.
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