Presidential Tribunal: Anxiety as Nigerians await judgement day

Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora are waiting with bated breath for the ruling of the five Justices who heard the election petitions filed by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, at the presidential election petition tribunal, challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.

Remember that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner and president-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1, four days after the presidential election held on February 25.

Tinubu received 8,794,726 votes, putting him ahead of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar (6,984,520 votes) and Labour Party (LP) candidate Peter Obi (6,101,533), as reported by INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

The head of INEC emphasized that Tinubu had fulfilled the first constitutional criteria by receiving the most votes of any contender. He claimed to have received more than the bare minimum of 24 electoral votes in a larger number of states (30 total).

By making this announcement, INEC offended many Nigerians, who pointed out that the constitution stipulates that a candidate must receive at least 25% of the vote in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, before being elected president of Nigeria.

Only the LP’s third-place finisher satisfies this criterion, according to INEC’s records. Atiku and Tinubu did not. Tinubu received the most votes overall and came in at 25% or higher in more than 24 of the federation’s states, but INEC, in its infinite wisdom, decided it wasn’t enough to deny him the victory.

The LP candidate and his PDP counterpart were not pleased by this announcement since they believed the poll was tainted by anomalies and Tinubu did not receive the constitutionally required 25% of the vote in the FCT. They believed INEC made a mistake in declaring Tinubu the victor and that he had actually lost.

Both candidates then filed petitions with the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).

To contest Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, Obi filed a petition with the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on March 21, 2023.

He claimed that numerous election irregularities occurred, including vote rigging, manipulation of results, voter intimidation and suppression, destruction of ballot boxes and papers, and thuggery. He also claimed that Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, were not eligible to run for office.

Another constitutional criteria that must be completed before one can be named president of Nigeria is receiving 25% of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, which he said Tinubu did not do. Equally, he said that the election was run in a way that was not in line with the law.

Obi’s first argument for Tinubu’s ineligibility to run for president was based on his having been fined $460,000 by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in case N0:93C 4483 between the United States of America and Bola Tinubu for a narcotics trafficking offense.

Obi claims that Kashim Shettima, Tinubu’s running mate, was ineligible because he had been nominated for both vice president and the seat of Borno Central’s senate in the same election cycle.

Obi further claimed that Tinubu did not receive the support of at least two-thirds of the states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in order to be considered legitimately elected.

Since Tinubu did not receive at least 25% of the valid votes cast in the FCT, he said, he should not be considered the victor of the election.

His two primary petitions asked the court to rule that Tinubu and his vice presidential candidate, Shettima, were ineligible to run for president on February 25 and that Tinubu had not received a majority of the legitimate votes cast in the election.

After claimed illegitimate votes were subtracted from Tinubu’s totals, he petitioned the court to declare that he met the constitutional conditions to be declared the victor of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.

Second, he asked the court to throw out Tinubu’s victory because he didn’t get 25% of the legal votes cast in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

Obi proposed an alternate third prayer, which asked the court to nullify the election and direct INEC to hold a new one.

In his fourth petition, he asserted once again that he was duly elected with a plurality of valid ballots cast on February 25.

Therefore, he requested that the court confirm his election as president and direct the INEC to provide him a certificate of return. He further requested that the certificate of return that had been improperly granted to Tinubu be nullified.

Atiku, the PDP candidate, also challenged Tinubu’s election with a petition on March 21. In his appeal, Atiku requested that the presidential election court either declare him the winner of the February 25 election or declare the election null and order a new election.

He had 27 witnesses and reams of election paperwork to back up his claim.

At the end of his case, Atiku pleaded with the court to declare that Tinubu had not been elected by a majority of lawful votes cast and that, as a result, Tinubu’s victory was unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, and should be nullified; that, at the time of the election, Tinubu was not qualified to contest the said election; and that, as a result, INEC’s return of Tinubu was wrongful, unlawful, undu

Alternatively, he requested that a run-off election be held between himself and Tinubu, with the court ordering the electoral board to organize it.

After the prosecution rested their case, the respondents (INEC, APC, Tinubu, and Shettima) requested an additional week to prepare their defense, which the five-member panel presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani approved and set for July 3.

After Atiku and Obi had presented their case, Tinubu and Shettima, along with their party, the APC, closed their defense by submitting a number of papers and calling one witness to refute the claims made by Atiku and Obi.

The petitioners’ arguments were met with rebuttals and requests for dismissal from the attorneys for Tinubu, Shettima, the APC, and INEC.

They contended, for instance, that the claim that 25% of FCT votes should count is nonsensical because it contradicts an express provision of the constitution.

The FCT must be accorded the same status as a sovereign nation. We propose that the case for non-compliance has not been made, the FCT argument has to fail,” the attorneys wrote, asking the court to throw out the petition.

Tinubu and the APC have argued before the tribunal that LP candidate Obi should be excluded from a runoff if one is required. They claim that because Obi’s name was not included in the LP’s membership registration given to the INEC before the elections, he was not eligible to represent the party in question.

On Tuesday, August 1, the parties to the case presented their closing arguments after more than three months of legal fireworks. The five-person panel is anticipated to issue its ruling by Friday, September 16. Although the petitions were submitted on March 21, the substantive lawsuit hearings did not begin until May and continued for a total of three months.

After hearing both sides’ arguments, the panel of esteemed jurists assured the parties and the people of Nigeria that they would be informed of the day of judgement in due time.

However, conversations and thoughts on the potential conclusion have not stopped as Nigerians wait for the judgement of the tribunal amidst stress, fear, and enormous anticipation.

Some people are worried that protests may continue in some areas regardless of the outcome of the case.

However, there are those who have openly and honestly urged the Judges to maintain their resolve, courage, and confidence, and to make their decision solely on the basis of the evidence and facts before them, rather than any arcane legal considerations.

A former member of the Katsina State House of Assembly and current member of the APC, Hon. Yusuf Shehu refuses to believe that the state’s judges lack the competence to make fair rulings.

He has faith that the judges would do what is asked of them and shock skeptics. He is one of the voices advocating for a fair and impartial judicial process, urging judges to examine the problems at hand with diligence.

When asked about his definition of justice, he responded, “I have always maintained that justice is truth, transparency, honesty, and giving right to those who deserve it.” In light of this, I urge all judges to act in an honest and forthright manner, not only those hearing election petitions.

“Let them take in the teachings of their chosen profession. Like I said before, justice means doing the right thing, and I have faith in the Nigerian court system.

He chided the Judges by pointing out that they would have to face yet another judge in the afterlife.

For democracy in Nigeria to succeed, it is imperative that they do the right thing without regard for personal gain.

The judges in Nigeria have done a good job. They have earned our praise on numerous occasions when they have overturned elections in favor of the opposition and against the governing party. They ought to proceed along the same lines now, taking into account all the data available to them before reaching a conclusion.

A choice that is acceptable to the vast majority of Nigerians and the people of other countries watching us should be possible for them to reach. He said, “That is what people in Nigeria expect from them.

Also, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, president of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), has faith in the judicial system because he knows the law is the ultimate arbiter and the last hope of the ordinary man, and he would not allow himself to be intimidated by any outside forces.

“Nigerians expect that all the INEC’s wrongdoings, irregularities, and disregards for the constitution will be revealed and punished accordingly.

The national laws are so explicit on some of these things, and yet someone walks in and changes results from the polling units, destroys result sheets, and refuses to submit results, among other things. We have faith in the Judges and know they will act appropriately. Today, we are putting our faith in them to do the right thing and make a declaration that will rescue the country.

We’re in court because the INEC made a mistake. ‘I believe some individuals would not even petition or go to court if the right thing was done and the right person declared after the right thing had been done, but they are in court because they believe that the wrong things were done by INEC,’ he alleged.

Further, he said, “Some individuals argue that the constitutional prerequisite for someone to be president was not present, yet the INEC proclaimed somebody the president.

Let’s not kid ourselves: “They know that the legislation says a candidate needs 25% of the vote in the FCT to be president. The people of Nigeria are counting on you to make the right call, and we have faith that you will.

Mr. Marcellus Onah, a lawyer and public affairs pundit, is of the opinion that the Judges should not play with the fate of the Nigerian people at this time. He thinks the judges can sense the political climate and won’t do anything to upset the delicate balance of power.

He is certain that the judges will make a decision based on the evidence presented to them.

“Many people have lost faith in the judiciary, so this is a great opportunity for them to prove the naysayers wrong,” he said.