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We’ll Rely On Three Grounds To Win At S’Court -PDP
Lawyers for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and those for the party, yesterday, argued that they would rely on three grounds to get the Supreme Court to overturn President Muhammadu Buhari’s last Wednesday victory at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.
Atiku and his party had said they would be challenging the unanimous judgement by the five-man tribunal that confirmed Buhari’s victory at the February 23 presidential poll.
The former vice president went to the tribunal seeking to overturn the victory of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was running for a second term in the February 23 presidential poll.
His petition did not succeed for failing to prove allegations of irregularities against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Buhari and the APC, the tribunal declared in a judgement that lasted for over eight hours, last Wednesday.
In a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Garba, the five-man panel held that all the five issues raised by the petitioner against the respondent were not proved.
But shortly after the verdict, Atiku and the PDP vowed to go to the Supreme Court to challenge the decision, but did not give the date their appeal would be filed.
Section 134(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides that an appeal from the tribunal would be heard and disposed of within 90 days from date of the judgement.
Arguing their case, Atiku’s lead counsel, Levy Uzoukwu, SAN, said there were a number of grounds upon which the appeal would be successfully challenged.
Uzoukwu said that contrary to the position of the tribunal that you don’t need to attach copies of certificates listed, the INEC Form CF001 clearly states that you must attach evidence of qualifications before you swear to an affidavit.
He added that the chairman of the tribunal also erred by his statement that “for Army to say so, it could be inferred that he submitted his certificates upon his enlistment. Interestingly, none of the three respondents raised that point in the trial. So, the court generated that, and that would tell you the extent the justices went.”
“Just look at the issue of the server, which has now thoroughly embarrassed them; the presiding justice unequivocally said the existence of the server was not proved. Now, the second justice, who gave the second judgement said that the petitioners recklessly hacked into the server and shamelessly presented the material to the court. This completely contradicts what the presiding justice said.
“That is not all, Justice Oseji came from another angle and said that the petitioners proved the issue of the server, and agreed with us that server is a storage device, which a computer is and that the INEC relied on our case and called no evidence. So, I just don’t understand.”
Another fundamental one, where we indicated that the areas put together, where elections did not take place, the total number of voters nullified the difference of the votes between Atiku and Buhari, they didn’t say one word on any of that.
“In this one, we subpoenaed the INEC, which brought Form EC40G, where on its own tabulated areas, election did not take place and the registered number of voters came to 2.7million, where elections were cancelled. We tendered this and addressed it copiously.
“We also tendered what they published on their website. I think that one was 2.6 million, where they organised supplementary elections for National Assembly, and elections were cancelled. It took place simultaneously with the presidential. Accreditation was also simultaneously by the same parties.
“At the point of voting, you go to the box for National Assembly. So, you cannot say that for presidential, election took place and for National Assembly, election did not take place in the same polling unit.
“We addressed all these issues. But they cleverly departed from it and not a word on it, and moved on as if nothing happened.
“We are going to articulate all these in our Notice of Appeal. We have 14 days and they have not given us the judgement because they said they were going to correct some errors,” he said.
Also speaking about the intention to challenge the judgement, counsel to Atiku, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said several things were wrong with it, among which he said were poor evaluation of evidence, non-evaluation of evidence, misplacement of exactly what the case of the petitioners is, and the fact of provisions of the Electoral Act being misinterpreted and misapplied.
“At the Supreme Court, there will be seven very good heads that will hear the appeal from here. There is no question about that; we will appeal the judgement,” he said.
The Minister of State for Niger Delta and one of the lawyers to the APC, Festus Keyamo, SAN, did not respond to calls and text message to him over the matter.
But one of the lawyers to Buhari, Sam Ologunorisa, SAN, said the appeal was expected, but added that it would help to enrich the country’s law.
“As lawyers, our opinions on issues of law and evaluation of facts arising therefrom are bound to differ. The presidential election petition and the issues so distilled will generate this type of reaction as the stakes are high.
“In all, our legal jurisprudence is bound to be richer and I hope the political class will learn one or two lessons and initiate appropriate reforms to deepen our democracy.”
Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the party was confident of winning at the Supreme Court.
Speaking to newsmen, yesterday, Ologbondiyan said the Supreme Court would dwell on the substance of the case and deliver justice.
“There are two levels of courts and we believe that the tribunal took over the responsibility of the respondent counsel by shopping for the cases they didn’t make. That is the position of our party, which was changed to law and jurisprudence.
“We believe that when we go to the Supreme Court, which is the highest court, we will take another look at the substance of the five issues the tribunal claimed to have addressed, and we believe that they would do justice on all the issues,” he said.
Similarly, the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku, has confirmed that his team and that of the party were working together to challenge the judgement.
Atiku’s special adviser on media, Paul Ibe, told our source in a telephone interview, yesterday, that his boss and PDP’s legal team were studying the judgement before taking the necessary action at the apex court.
Asked whether Atiku or his camp had confidence of winning at the Supreme Court, Ibe simply replied, “Let’s get there first. We are on the road. This is not about Atiku, it is about Nigeria and Nigerians. It is about our future and the need to reset our destiny. It is about creating jobs and making Nigerians better.”
Adding his view to the argument about going to the Supreme Court, a former director-general of the Nigerian Law School, Prof Tahir Mamman, said it was within the right of Atiku and the PDP to appeal against the decision of the tribunal.
He explained that the cost element of the petition may not be a problem for Atiku.
“It is okay if he appeals, but whether or not his appeal succeeds is a different matter. Nobody tried to predict what the Appeal Court would do earlier. But overall, if you look at the unanimous judgement of the court, it is a landmark decision; very comprehensive. All the issues were taken within the prism of the requirement provisions of the Electoral Act and the Evidence Act,” he said.
But Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, faulted the tribunal’s decision, saying it erred by claiming that the petitioners dumped electoral materials on the tribunal by not leading evidence through the makers.
“It is a misapplication of the principle in Duriminya v. C.O.P (Supra) to expect the petitioner to come and read afresh to the court the same evidence already contained in the exhibits, which were tendered and received without objection. The tribunal erred seriously by failing to see that forms EC8A and EC8B are statutory forms complete on their own as to their source and purport, and which cannot, therefore, be equated with ordinary documentary exhibits.
“It is, therefore, my contention that there is a need for our courts to reconsider their stand on the issues of who can tender certified true copies of public documents and the weight to be attached to it and the arguments that unless documents tendered are demonstrated, courts should regard them as dumping. If court cannot look at documents tendered and interpret the man making meaning out of it, then what is the duty of the court?” he queried.
Another lawyer, Abeny Mohammed, SAN, however, advised both parties in the matter to obtain copies of the judgement and study them before determining the next course of action.
A former Kaduna State governor, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, described the decision by Atiku to head to Supreme Court as the right decision, saying Buhari did same years back.
The elder statesman also said it was in the interest of Nigerians for the matter to go to the Supreme Court because that would show everybody that there is justice in the country.
“I think his decision to go the Supreme Court is right. He should do it for his own sake because he feels aggrieved. That is one. Secondly, even his competitor, Buhari, went up to the Supreme Court when he had the same problem. So, why can’t Atiku also go?
“Thirdly, it is even in the interest of Nigerians for the matter to go up to the Supreme Court because that will show everybody whether there is justice or not. The Supreme Court is supposed to be more articulate than the tribunal; therefore, it can do more justice.
“Finally, the outcome of the Supreme Court will enable Nigerians to know more about the law. Of course, in addition to this, I, therefore, say also that for me as an individual politician, there is no different between the PDP candidate, Atiku and the APC candidate, Buhari,” he said.
The Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Ms. Idayat Hassan, toeing the line of Balarabe Musa, also argued that the tribunal, having given its reasons for the decision, the petitioner, Atiku and the PDP have a right to exhaust all remedies, and that is why they are going to the Supreme Court.
“However, the most important thing to happen is that our electoral jurisprudence must change. The burden of proof on the petitioner to prove his case may lead to the defeat of justice in the long run. We have to reach a point where it shouldn’t just be “he who asserts, must prove,” but also those who claim to have conducted elections must prove that they did it within extant regulations,” she said.
On his part, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the country was running a constitutional democracy, and under constitutional democracy, the courts must be obeyed.
“Whatever the feelings of any aggrieved party, they have to accept the verdict of the court, and if they strongly believe that they have a case, they can proceed to explore other democratic and legal means. We will not encourage anybody to do anything that is not within democratic norms.
“I think this is not really good because President Buhari’s victory was not challenged in 2015, and now in 2019, his election is being challenged, which means that there may be infractions in the conduct of the election. We appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and for President Buhari to face governance. He should also caution his aides, supporters and officials from making derogatory remarks or mockery of opponents.
“We should face governance now. The only thing that would ameliorate the disaffection of the people who felt otherwise is for Buhari to put tangible programmes that would deliver good governance and job security for the people. The president should be focused and make the anti-corruption efforts succeed,” he said.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has pledged necessary support to ensure the Judiciary operates as a truly independent and effective justice system. Governor Fubara gave the assurance while formally declaring open the 2025/2026 Legal Year at a special Court Session at the State High Court Complex in Port Harcourt, recently.
He expressed satisfaction not only with the event’s success but also with the Bar and Bench’s commitment to advancing the integrity of the judicial system.
The Governor said that the Rivers State Judiciary ranks among the best in Nigeria, adding that it features some of the brightest judicial minds who courageously interpret and apply the law with a high sense of justice.
He reminded the lawyers, that as ministers in the temple of justice, they are under oath to conduct themselves honestly in their practice of the law before the courts, to uphold the rule of law and advance the course of justice at all times.
“Similarly, every judge is under a judicial oath to provide equal justice to all persons according to law to the best of their knowledge and ability without fear, favour, or affection”, he said.
He stressed that the judicial oath is not composed of mere words but demands that judges act with moral courage to resist pressure, and ensure that both friends and foes have access to equal and impartial justice.
He, therefore, requested that all courts, inferior or superior, should perform their duties with courage, adjudicate and interpret the laws and cases in ways that promote substantial justice, democracy, and citizens’ fundamental rights.
The Governor, however, declared that the political crisis is now over, with all parties fully reconciled, and his administration back on its feet, affirming that he holds no grudges or ill feelings toward anyone.
He stated that the administration is now re-energised and has resumed the implementation of people-centric policies, programmes, and projects with greater determination to achieve the developmental milestones set to enhance the well-being of the people of Rivers State.Governor Fubara reiterated his commitment to work with the State House of Assembly, the Judiciary, and other stakeholders to recover lost ground, sustain peace and accelerate development of the state.
He also appreciated the Chief Judge for providing functional, effective leadership, exceptional courage, and an unwavering determination to ensure justice is served to all who seek the aid of the courts.
Speaking earlier during the thanksgiving service at the Corpus Christi Catholic Cathedral, Port Harcourt, Governor Fubara called on the Judiciary to remain steadfast as a “true temple of justice”, urging the courts not to let the innocent suffer unjustly. In his remarks, Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, highlighted the absence of a Committee on Prerogative of Mercy in the state, which, he said has contributed significantly to congestion in custodial centres. He noted that the non-reduction of sentences for inmates, including 493 male and 15 female death-row prisoners, is beyond the Chief Judge’s powers, and called for government intervention.
He thanked the Governor for the support given to the Judiciary so far, and solicited for more encouragement to reduce the pressures judicial officers face in the performance of their duties. Also speaking, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt Branch, Mrs. Cordelia Eke, said the 2024–2025 legal year began with optimism but was soon overshadowed by political and institutional turbulence.
She noted that the state of emergency and suspension of key elected officials disrupted democratic governance and tested the resilience of the justice system. “The absence of an Attorney General caused serious delays in justice delivery, unprocessed legal applications, and financial losses,” Eke stated.According to her, the situation underscored the urgent need to fortify laws that protect institutions and ensure that the justice system continues to function even in difficult times.
Speaking on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), Chief Onueze Okocha (SAN), expressed concern over the battered image of the Judiciary, lamenting that many Nigerians have lost faith in the courts due to inconsistent judgments and prolonged case delays.He urged judges to resist personal interests that could influence their professional conduct, calling for renewed integrity and faster dispensation of justice.
Earlier in his homily during the thanksgiving service, Apostolic Administrator, Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt, Right Reverend Patrick S. Eluke, urged members of the legal profession to uphold moral and spiritual integrity in their practice, reminding them of their “sacred duty” to ensure that justice reflects honesty, compassion, and fairness.
He cautioned against hypocrisy, rivalry, and unhealthy competition within the legal profession, stressing that true justice must protect the vulnerable and remain unswayed by material or political influence.
He further called on elected leaders to demonstrate patriotism and accountability to the people who entrusted them with power, noting that democracy and justice thrive only where integrity and fairness prevail.
The Governor read the First Reading from 2 Chronicles 19: 5-9; while the Chief Judge took the 2nd Reading from Psalm 100: 1-5. Highlights of the event were presentation of gifts to the Governor, his Deputy, Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Martin Amaewhule, and the Chief Judge as well as prayers for the Government, the Judiciary, the State and the Country.
The NLNG and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board have restated their shared commitment to human capital development and technological inclusion through the completion of two key capacity-building projects in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The events featured the commissioning of a remodelled and fully equipped ICT Centre at the Baptist High School, Port Harcourt, and the close-out ceremony of the Human Capital Development Basic Training Programme, a year-long initiative designed to enhance employability and industry skills among young Nigerians.
This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday by the NLNG Manager, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, and sent to newsmen.
The NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Ogbe described the ICT Centre as a “gateway to knowledge, innovation, and future opportunities.”
Represented by the General Manager, Institutional Strengthening, Mr Olugbenga Sheba, he noted that the project reflects both organisations’ shared vision to equip young Nigerians with digital skills and prepare them for a technology-driven world.
“The remodelled ICT Centre is more than a building. It is a statement of belief that students here can learn coding, design, and innovation that connects them with the world.
“It represents our confidence that when given the right tools, Nigerian students can become creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs,” he said.
Omatsola commended NLNG for its continued collaboration with the Board and its steadfast commitment to Nigerian Content goals.
He stressed that the partnership demonstrates what can be achieved through meaningful collaboration between government and corporate stakeholders, adding that such investments build a stronger and more prosperous Nigeria.
NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to compliance with Nigerian Content regulations and to improving lives sustainably. She stated that the project aligns with NLNG’s vision of empowering communities through education and technology.
“The upgrade executed at Baptist High School, apart from complying with extant regulations under NCDMB’s guidance, is an investment that gives students a modern learning environment and provides teachers with better tools to deliver quality education.
“This aligns with our long-term commitment to human capital development,” she said.
The intervention at Baptist High School included the delivery of a 40-seater ICT Centre, a 20KVA solar and inverter system, renovated classrooms and administrative buildings, and the provision of digital smart boards and modern learning tools.
At the close-out ceremony of the HCD Basic Training Programme, 30 trainees received international certifications in Engineering, Marine Operations, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Entrepreneurship, and other vital skills for the oil and gas industry.
The ceremonies underscored the joint mission of NLNG and NCDMB to build local capacity, promote technological inclusion, and support Nigeria’s broader vision of sustainable development through education and skill acquisition.
The newly sworn-in Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has vowed to restore credibility and public confidence in the country’s electoral system, declaring his appointment as a “divine” call to serve the nation.
Speaking shortly after his inauguration by the President at the State House yesterday, Amupitan declared that his mission was clear — to deliver free, fair, and credible elections while deepening democratic values across the nation.
During his first official meeting with the commission’s directors, he stressed that achieving INEC’s mandate would hinge on teamwork, discipline, and integrity within the institution.
“Our mandate is clear, and what is it? To deliver free, fair, and credible elections that reflect the will of the Nigerian people. To achieve this, we must work together as a team,” he stated.
Addressing INEC staff and directors, the don pledged to uphold the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
“As we mark the beginning of the new chapter, I want to assure you of my commitment to upholding the highest standard of integrity, transparency, and discipline in all our operations,” he said.
Turning his attention to the upcoming Anambra State governorship election, the INEC chairman described it as a defining moment for the commission.
“The upcoming Anambra state governorship election is not just another electoral exercise. It represents a pivot opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to free, fair, and credible elections,” he declared.
“The eyes of the nation are upon us, and it is our duty to rise to that occasion.
“Credibility in our election is paramount, and we must ensure that every voter feels confident that their vote will count. Because that is a constitutional task. And let’s restore back the confidence of every voter that whenever there is an election, their vote will count,” Amupitan added.
The don also made staff welfare a central part of his agenda, acknowledging that the commission’s workforce plays a vital role in ensuring credible elections.
“For me, staff welfare is going to be my priority. We are going to be expecting so much from you, so your welfare is going to be a priority.
“We’ll work assiduously and tirelessly to ensure that our working conditions are conducive and that our staff are equipped with the necessary resources to excel,” the INEC chairman assured.
The chairman, accompanied by his wife, children, and senior officials from the University of Jos, expressed gratitude to his academic colleagues who celebrated his appointment.
“I was told that the whole university got shut down out of excitement. One of theirs is now given this very heckling and important responsibility of heading this commission at this time,” he said.
Despite the weight of his new responsibilities, he said he was ready for the challenge.
“The places I’ve gone to, including some national commissioners, they were saying, I don’t envy you. But let me say that I am excited about the journey ahead.
“Together, let us uphold the values of democracy and work tirelessly for the credibility of our elections,” the don said.
He concluded his remarks on a reflective note, describing his appointment as part of a divine plan.
“Maybe if I had a choice, I would say I would not come here. But from all the indications, I could see that God is moving in this country, and my coming is divine.
“If God says go, who are you to say I’m not going? I’m here because I have a role to play to ensure that a new Nigeria is born. And of course, you know, INEC has a very, very important role to play in this quest.
“God bless you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he concluded.
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