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Atiku to Tinubu: Your arrogance, threat won’t save you *You’ll be removed and heavens won’t fall
Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has again taken on President Bola Tinubu over his position that nullifying the outcome of the presidential election that held on February 25, may lead to anarchy in the country.
Assailing the President further, Atiku, who is challenging Tinubu’s declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), sitting in Abuja, this time, came through Chief Chris Uche (SAN), his lead lawyer at the tribunal, saying the President, totally misunderstood the depth of issues that were raised against his election.
Maintaining that the heavens would not fall, should the court nullify President Tinubu’s election, he said: “The fact that a presidential election has never been nullified by the Courts in Nigeria before now, is not a good reason not to do so now, as it is very just to do.”
Atiku, who came second in the presidential contest, stated: “At this stage, it is pertinent to observe from the outset that the 2nd Respondent’s Final Written Address, with respect, reflects a complete misconception and unfortunate misunderstanding of the case of the Petitioners, notwithstanding the magisterial arrogance, condescending cynicism and overbearing misanthropy with which he has sought to trivialise the Petitioners’ case, as will be shown hereunder.
“Furthermore, a subtle threat of apocalyptic catastrophe of national chaos and anarchy if a judgment is not given in a particular manner cannot deter a Court of law from doing justice. ‘The Court must do justice, rather ‘let the heavens fall’; but as courageously stated by the Supreme Court per Oguntade JSC, in the epic case of AMAECHI vs. INEC & ORS (2008) LPELR-446(SC) (Pp. 67-68 paras. D): ‘I must do justice even if the heavens fall. The truth of course is that when justice has been done, the heavens stay in place.’
“It is also pertinent to observe that the Final Written Address of the 2nd Respondent was filed in flagrant defiance of, and non-compliance with, the mandatory provisions of Paragraph 5(c) and (d) of the Election Judicial Proceedings Practice Directions, 2023, rendering same invalid.
“We urge your Lordships to discountenance as well as strike out the said Final Written Address for gross non-compliance.”
Alleging INEC, “clearly mismanaged the election as shown by evidence,” the former VP, said the sole witness the electoral body produced before the court, admitted that the technological innovation introduced through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and transmission to the IReV portal, was to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the election results, only for the electoral body to admit through its witness that there was a “technical glitch” that made the system to fail to work.
Stating how the witness, who is a Director in charge of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), at the INEC, “further admitted that the Presidential and National Assembly elections were held on same day and with same BVAS machines.
“He openly admitted that at the time the result was declared on 1st March 2023, all the results had not been uploaded to the IReV.
“He was shown the European Union Observers Final Report, which was admitted as Exhibit RA6, and he read out the relevant portions indicting the conduct and outcome of the presidential election.
“It is instructive to note that despite the uniqueness of the new regime of election management, INEC failed to call even one field officer, or agent or staff, or any ward collation agent, or local government collation agent or state collation agent or poll officials, any of its numerous registration area technicians (Ractechs), or even the Presiding Officers (PO), Assistant Presiding Officer (APO 1, APO 11, APO 111) who handled the BVAS machines or who person who operated any aspect of the technological system including the IReV to give evidence or to even explain the nebulous technical glitch,” Atiku added.
Besides, he argued that President Tinubu did not call any witness in support of his claim of victory in the election, “but only one witness, a certain Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who claimed to be practising law in the United State as well as in Nigeria and at the same time, a serving Senator, who came to speak on the qualifications of the 2nd Respondent, and admitted that the name of the 2nd Respondent is the subject of the US forfeiture judgment admitted in Court as EXHIBIT PBF1.
“He admitted that the 2nd Respondent did not score 25% of the votes cast in the FCT in the election.”
Atiku, therefore, prayed the court to declare that the return of President Tinubu as winner of the election, “was invalidated by reason of substantial non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 on electronic transmission of results for collation and verification by deliberate bypass of and failure to transmit the election results electronically.”
“The Petitioners have established that the return of the 2nd Respondent as the winner of the Presidential election held on 25th day of February 2023, was unlawful and unconstitutional, having not secured one-quarter of the valid votes cast in the FCT, Abuja as required by the Constitution of the Federal of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended).
“The Petitioners have established that the 2nd Respondent was clearly disqualified under the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) to contest the Presidential election held on 25th day of February 2023, having regard to order of criminal forfeiture on him arising from drug-related offence, his declaration of allegiance to a country other than Nigeria and acquisition of citizenship of another Country, and presenting a forged certificate to the 1st Respondent.
“The Petitioners have proved that 2nd Respondent was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast in the election.
Respondents proffered very scanty evidence in defence, and virtually abandoned their pleadings by not calling necessary witnesses, not having any credible defence to the Petition.
“We submit with all sense of responsibility that this Nation and its Judiciary stand at the threshold of history. We submit that the fact that a presidential election has never been nullified by the Courts in Nigeria before now, is not a good reason not to do so now, as is very just to do.
“As was eloquently put by the celebrated Law Lord, Denning MR in the case of PACKER vs. PACKER (1954) AC P.15 AT 22:- ‘What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it had been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before we shall never act anywhere. The law will stand still whilst the rest of the world goes on and that will be bad for both.’
“May our law and our country no more stand still, while the rest of the world goes on,” the PDP candidate added in the final brief of argument he filed alongside his party,” he argued.
It will be recalled that President Tinubu had earlier challenged the legal competence of Atiku’s petition which he said grossly lacked merit.
In a preliminary objection he filed before the court, Tinubu, described Atiku as a consistent serial loser that had since 1993, crisscrossed different political parties, in search of power.
He said: “The 1st petitioner (Atiku) has been consistently contesting and losing successive presidential elections in Nigeria since 1993, whether at the party primary election level or at the general election; including 1993, when he lost the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primary election to the late Chief M.K.O Abiola; 2007, when he lost the presidential election to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua; 2011, when he lost the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary election to President Goodluck Jonathan; 2015, when he lost the APC primary election to President Muhammadu Buhari; 2019, when he lost the presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari; and now, 2023, when he has again, lost the presidential election to the respondent.
“Further to (iv) supra, it was/is not a surprise and/or not by accident that the electorate rejected the 1st petitioner at the polls of the presidential election held on 25th February, 2023”.
Insisting that he was validly returned as winner of the presidential election by INEC, Tinubu, told the court that unlike Atiku, he has been “a most consistent politician, who has not shifted political tendency and alignment.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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