Supreme Court reserves judgement on Obi, Atiku’s Petition

While accusing the lower court of breaching his right to a fair hearing, Obi insisted that evidence of his witnesses was wrongly dismissed as incompetent and told the apex court that the panel unjustly dismissed his allegation that INEC uploaded 18, 088 blurred results on its IReV portal.

More so, Obi, alleged that the lower court ignored his allegation that certified true copies of documents that INEC issued to his legal team, comprised of 8, 123 blurred results that contained blank A4 papers, pictures and images of unknown persons, purporting the same to be the CTC of polling units results of the presidential election.

Obi further argued that it was wrong for the lower court to rely on the legal principle of estoppel to dismiss his contention that INEC bypassed its regulations when it refused to electronically transmit the results of the election from polling units to the IReV.

“The learned justices of the court below erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when they held and concluded that he failed to establish the allegation of corrupt practices and over-voting,” Obi added.

“The petitioners addicted credible and substantial evidence, both oral and documentary, that proved substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 by the Respondents in the conduct of the election.

“The court below overlooked that the Respondents failed to disprove the evidence of substantial non-compliance adduced by the petitioners,” the Appellants stated, adding that the panel wrongfully dismissed the issue of double nomination that was raised against Tinubu’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

Likewise, Obi insisted that the PEPC overlooked evidence that established that President Tinubu was previously indicted and fined $460,000 in the USA over his involvement in a drug-related case.

“Imposing a fine is not limited to a criminal conviction, as the word, in law, includes a civil forfeiture,” the LP presidential candidate argued in his appeal.

Meanwhile, responding to the PDP candidate’s appeal during hearing on Monday, President Tinubu urged the court not to admit Atiku’s leave to present his certificate that was released to the candidate of the PDP by the Chicago State University, CSU.

Tinubu, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued that the foreign depositions that Atiku relied on to apply for the certificate to be admitted in evidence, was done in a private law chamber in the United States of America, USA.

He further argued that the requisite condition precedent was not met by the Applicants to enable the apex court to be able to admit the documents in evidence.

“In the USA, we have their rules, this depositions are not even admissible in their own courts! We have highlighted those rules in our counter affidavit.

“My lords, this is aside from the fact that the depositions were not done in the court, but in private chambers,” Olanipekun added.

More so, he argued that the 180 days period allowed for the hearing of the petition that Atiku and his party filed to nullify the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, had since elapsed.

He said it would therefore be wrong for the apex court to admit a fresh evidence at the stage of appeal, adding that Atiku ought to have joined the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as an interested party in the US proceedings.

“The Court of Appeal is a tribunal. The  First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 as well as section 285 (13) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, is very clear.

“They merely went on a fishing expedition in the US. The evidence they are seeking to tender is not at large. It cannot be compartmentalize in any where.

“Even Alice in Wonderland knew where she was going. At least she was told where she was going.

“My Lords, this is an application that we believe is in Wonderland. It has no merit.