PRESIDENTIAL POLLS PETITION: Court Adjourns For Judgement

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Thursday adjourned indefinitely after the completion of adoption of all processes by counsel in the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, challenging the victory of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the last presidential polls.

The panel stated that it will communicate the date for the delivery of judgment on the petition to the counsel.

While adopting their brief, counsel representing President Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria, informed the court that the entire proceedings in relation to the petition is merely an academic exercise based on an earlier ruling made by the court while the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami, was presiding.

Olanipekun contended that even after taking evidence from the witnesses called by parties in the matter, and having critically reviewed the processes filed by the CPC, there is no case against President Jonathan and Vice President Sambo in the petition.

The senior advocate of Nigeria argued that the principal witness called by the CPC, Alhaji Buba Galadima, whose testimony is the corner stone of the petitioner’s case did not in any way implicate his clients.

At best, Olanipekun argued, the CPC is merely saying that the President and the Vice President should be vicariously held responsible for nothing and called on the court to dismiss CPC’s petition as lacking in merit having been abandoned against his clients.

On his part, counsel who represented the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at today’s proceeding, Dr. Amechi Nwiwu, also a senior advocate, while also calling on the court to throw away CPC’s petition, drew the court’s attention to the issue of criminal allegation which the petitioner had raised in the petition and in the evidence proferred by their witnesses which he said came within the contemplation of sections 124, 125, 128 and 131 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

He further argued that the CPC did not prove their argument from the preponderance of evidence before the court and called on the court to dismiss the petition.

In a similar vein, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate of Nigeria and counsel representing the Independent National Election Commission, argued that a party can rely on evidence extracted from witnesses in the course of cross-examination of opposition witnesses to establish its case.

He submitted that the electoral body has sufficiently proven its case to the effect that the Presidential election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law and that President Jonathan was validly returned winner of the election and urged the court to dismiss the petition.

While adopting his briefs, CPC’s lawyer, Chief Oladipo Akposeyi, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, urged the court to grant them the prayers being sought and to nullify the election of President Jonathan on the ground that the election was not properly conducted.

He argued that an earlier ruling of the court which didn’t terminate the life of the petition shows that it had merit and as such, that no call for the dismissal of the petition should be allowed to stand.

Before the court adjourned for delivery of judgment in the matter, it considered and accepted apologies made by Mr. Femi Falana and Engr Rotimi Fashakin, spokesman for the CPC, who was subpoenaed by the court over a controversial press release which derided the members of the Tribunal.

By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja