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•Lawyers, group react
By Chinelo Obogo,
Varied reactions have trailed the judgement that affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Labour Party (LP) last night rejected the verdict, claiming it was unjust and did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh read: “The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court by Justice Haruna Tsammani today and we reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety because justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.
“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious.
“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people prevail.
We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria.”
He said LP will make its next move known upon consultation with its lawyers after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgments.
LP urged all lovers of democracy to remain focused and hopeful as a new Nigeria is possible.
In his reaction, the residential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, described the verdict as “sound in fact and law, in substance, procedures, and conform to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2022 as amended and established precedent.”
Reacting on his twitter handle @Pres_Adebayo, Adebay urged Atiku and Mr Obi to congratulate President Tinubu and try again in 2027, if any of them wished to become president.
He wrote, “I am not supposed to gloat that I told you so. Today’s judgements dismissing weak petitions are sound in fact and law, in substance, procedures, and conform to the Constitution, Electoral Act and established precedents.
@PeterObi, @atiku should congratulate @officialABA –2027.”
On his part, Ide Goddy Uwazurike, legal practitioner and president of the Cultural Credibility development Initiative (CCDI), said the verdict was an indication that Nigeria’s justice system is lying prostrate while technicality stood triumphant over it.
“Indeed, the PEPT relied on technicality in analysing the trial including the evidence of the witnesses. To be blunt, the tribunal failed to realise that it (judiciary) was on trial in the court of the people.
“World over, the judiciary does not rely on technicality. It relies on substantial justice, on what the people understand. Those who were beaten up during the election, those who were denied the right to vote, those who witnessed the mutilation of results are still wondering what happened? Election judgement based on technicality is naked injustice.
“The people expected that the verification of the scores will be a primary duty of the Tribunal. People expected that the Tribunal will ask the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) why it failed to produce documents used for the election. INEC bluntly refused to produce the documents used in the election and the Tribunal did nothing.
“This amounted to unfair trial because the defence decided the evidence that will be available, notwithstanding the Notice to Produce served on it and the reassurance of the Chair that it will comply. In the end, the Tribunal ruled that the petitioner failed to prove his case. This Tribunal failed to respond to the question, who won? Those who benefit from injustice see nothing wrong in the system,” he stated
However, Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), said the verdict was in tandem with the established principles of law that govern and underpin election litigations in Nigeria.
He said parties who were dissatisfied were at liberty to proceed to the Supreme Court to test the decisions of the tribunal
But, a pro-democracy group, Coalition of Good Governance and Change Initiative (CGGCI), appealed to all parties to accept the ruling.
Speaking with newsmen during a peaceful walk at the Federal Secretariat road, Abuja, venue of PEPT sitting, the national coordinator of CGGCI, Okpokwu Ogenyi, said Atiku and Obi should accept the outcome of the Tribunal.
“It is a great indication that the world has agreed with the mandate of the Nigerian people that Asiwaju still remains the choice of the people,” he said.
On Atiku and Obi, the coordinator of the coalition said: “they are Nigerians. But we, Nigerians rejected them with the mandate to lead us through the ballot. They should accept the verdict of the Court and move on with the President Tinubu.
