The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party have made good their threat to challenge at the tribunal, the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the February 23 election.
Atiku’s resort to a legal battle over the outcome of the poll came amidst entreaties from prominent Nigerians, religious and socio-cultural organisations to accept defeat in good faith.
But yesterday, the former vice president and the PDP filed an ex-parte motion at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which serves as the venue of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.
Last week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared President Buhari, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the poll with 15,191,847 votes as against Atiku’s 11,262,978.
Before the collation of the results was concluded by INEC, Atiku and the PDP vowed to approach the tribunal for legal redress, claiming that the election was characterised by widespread irregularities and thuggery.
In the motion they filed yesterday, Atiku and the PDP prayed the tribunal for an order compelling INEC to allow them to inspect the voters’ register and other vital documents used for the election.
The respondents in the motion ex-parte dated March 4 and filed yesterday are President Buhari, the APC and INEC.
Through his counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), Atiku asked the tribunal to compel INEC to allow his agents to scan and make photocopies of vital documents used in the election for the purpose of proving his case before the count.
The application was supported with a 12-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd.), the director of Contact and Mobilisation for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council.
Both Atiku and the PDP claimed that they won the presidential election but were shortchanged by INEC during the collation and announcement of the results.
Consequently, they the court to grant them permission to specifically inspect the Voters’ registers, the Smart Card Reader Machines, ballot papers and other documents used for the election.
The inspection of election materials usually precedes the filing of an election petition before the tribunal.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the motion.
Presidential Candidate Asks Court To Disqualify Buhari, Atiku
Also yesterday, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the service of court process on President Buhari and Atiku through substituted service in a suit filed by Abdulahi Bello, who contested the presidential election along with Buhari and Atiku, on the platform of the National Rescue Movement.
Bello asked the court to invoke Section 91(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 to nullify the participation of Buhari and Atiku in the poll for allegedly violating the electoral laws.
The two presidential candidates are to be served through the legal departments of the APC for Buhari and the PDP for Atiku.
Through his counsel, Ezekiel Vem Ofou, Bello urged the court to set aside the participation of Buhari and Atiku on the ground that they spent more than N1 billion each as campaign expenses.
He argued that by spending above INEC’s N1 billion benchmark, Buhari and Atiku violated the electoral law and should, therefore, be disqualified from the race.
APC Denies Mounting Pressure On Atiku To Jettison Court Action
Meanwhile, the APC Presidential Campaign Council has denied prevailing on Atiku not to challenge the election results at the tribunal.
The spokesman of the campaign body, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), said yesterday that the APC did not seek the intervention of international bodies to stop Atiku from approaching the tribunal as reported in a section of the media.
He, however, explained that the letter referred to in the reports originated from a Buhari Campaign Organisation, which does not speak for the APC.
Keyamo said: “Our attention has been drawn to some news items and posts on the social media reporting that we wrote a letter to some international bodies to prevail on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar not to proceed to court to challenge the result of the 2019 presidential election.
“Our investigation reveals that a letter to that effect was purportedly written by a certain ‘Buhari Campaign Organisation’. This is the second time we will be informing the public that the said ‘Buhari Campaign Organisation’ does not act at the behest of the APC Presidential Campaign Council nor does it represent the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation in any way, “ he stated.
Keyamo further explained that whatever emanates from the Buhari Campaign Organisation does not represent the position of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
“As a result, whatever it has released does not represent the position of the Presidential Campaign Council or President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Our official position is that we believe that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has a constitutional right to seek redress in court and we do not seek in any way to curtail that right. In fact, it is the resort to the court that is the only democratic way to ventilate his perceived grievance and any attempt to restrict or discourage the exercise of such right would be an invitation to anarchy,” he added.
Keyamo said that the APC was ready to meet Atiku and the PDP at the tribunal.
“In addition, we are very anxious to meet Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in court in order to show the world in a conclusive manner the free and fair nature of the comprehensive defeat of Atiku at the polls. An election is not termed ‘rigged’ only by the mere claim of it by the loser. That is what Atiku and the PDP want to ram down our throats. Unfortunately for them, international, continental and sub-regional observers (who can be seen as neutral by all standards) all declared it to be free, fair and credible. No ego-massaging narrative can change that.
“We therefore totally disassociate ourselves from the letter purportedly written by one of, perhaps, many support groups of President Buhari. They may have a right to their opinion, but it does not represent our official position,” Keyamo stated.
PDP Protests At INEC Headquarters
Meanwhile, the PDP has staged a protest at the premises of the INEC in Abuja, alleging that it connived with APC to undermine the will of the electorate.
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The party likened the situation to the piling of gunpowder which may leave the country in ruins when it explodes.
The party’s supporters and leaders stormed the INEC office at 3pm yesterday. The protesters comprising women and youths carried placards bearing “Stop this manipulation please; Kaduna State result is fake; INEC gives us original result; INEC please do the right thing, this is not our votes.”
The PDP chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, led the members who trekked about three kilometres from the party’s Legacy House campaign headquarters in Maitama to INEC office and stood for about 30 minutes dancing the ‘Atikulation’ music (campaign music theme of the party) before one of the commission’s official addressed them.
Among the INEC top officials who received the protesters were three national commissioners: May Agbamuche-Mbu, Haruna Mohammed, and Anthonia Okoosi-Simbine.
Secondus who spoke for members of the PDP National Working Committee, (NWC) and other leaders told the INEC officials not to allow their action cause trouble in the country.
Secondus said that they came to register their protest against the outcome of the February 23 presidential election.
He said that the role played by INEC in the election fell short of the required standard and cannot stand any scrutiny.
According to him, the PDP has credible intelligence that some INEC officials are again working with the APC to thwart the will of the people in Delta, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, Rivers, Kwara and Kaduna states in the forthcoming governorship and assemblies’ election. He warned that the commission’s every action has consequences both to man and before God.
“The mood in the country shows clearly that you INEC declared the wrong person winner in the presidential election and I urge you to watch your action because history is recording all you do for posterity.
“The APC is deploying military operatives to help some of your black legs manipulate Saturday’s elections in some states particularly in Kaduna, Delta, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Kwara but Nigerians in those states have mobilised to defend their votes.”
“It is very important for you to note that injustices being done, if they are not tackled and resolved peacefully, it is a keg of gun powder being pulled up that we do not know when it will explode but we are peaceful, we are law-abiding, we want peace in our country, we do not have any other country and we believe in the rule of law. That is why we are here. Take this peaceful protest seriously and we are serious about it,” Secondus said.
He also warned that “let it not be like the usual thing is Nigeria, do it nothing will happen after one week. It is piling up and our leaders in the country are not speaking but it is piling up. One day, God forbid, it can burst.”
He said the party has written to the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth, over the role of the military in the last election.
In her response, Agbamuche-Mbu, who is INEC national commissioner (Legal) assured the PDP members that the commission would look into their complaints.
She said: “On behalf of INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the entire INEC staff, I want to thank you for the civilised way you have approached us and that is the way it should be. INEC is here to do a professional job, but don’t forget that INEC cannot do the work alone.”
“I supervised Rivers and Bayelsa States, so I know what it means to invest in that area and the people of Rivers and Akwa Ibom States know what they want. We intend to make this election free and fair; all we ask is that for your sake too, your mantra should be peace,” she said.
PMB, Service Chiefs Meet Over Gov’ship, Assembly Polls
Ahead of the governorship and state assemblies’ polls, President Buhari yesterday held a meeting with service chiefs on security arrangements for the exercise.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, acting inspector-general of police (IGP), Mr. Mohammad Adamu, reiterated his earlier warning to ballot box snatchers and thugs to stay away from the polling units.
He said that adequate security had been provided for the election and called on voters to come out to exercise their civic rights.
Adamu said that security personnel had resolved to deal ruthlessly with anybody who attempts to disrupt the election.
He said: “We are all aware of the fact that we just concluded the presidential and National Assembly elections and we want to congratulate Nigerians for the peaceful conduct of the elections and we are prepared now for the governorship and the House of Assembly elections in the country.
“We’ll like every Nigerian to come out and cast his or her vote. The security arrangement we provided during the presidential elections is being enhanced so as to provide enabling an environment for everybody to come out and cast his or her vote for their preferred candidates.
“We will again advise those that will want to disrupt the process to rethink because, during the presidential election, we had some few challenges, we’ll not allow them to recur.
“So, thuggery again is not allowed, ballot snatching is not allowed, disruption of the election process is not allowed. We, the security personnel have resolved to deal ruthlessly with anybody that attempts to disrupt the process of this election. For that reason, we expect that in every state, the conduct of the election should be respected,” he said.
Adamu said that security had been enhanced in Bayelsa State and other states where killings took place in the last elections.
“Virtually, in Bayelsa and there are other states within that zone that we have taken notice of the fact that people there are prone to violence, so we have increased the number of security personnel that have been posted there.
Asked to comment on allegations by some electoral officers that they were not even allowed to do their work by security agents, Adamu said: “Well, as I said before, the lives of Nigerians are secured in terms of provision of adequate security to come out and vote. If you judge what you have said with the report of the international and local observers, you will see that they adjudged the process to be peaceful.”
Among the security chiefs who attended the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe.
Others were the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, and the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi.
