Presidential poll: S’Court dismisses Atiku, PDP’s appeal over INEC server

…Says lower court right to have restrained itself from granting the application of the petitioners

…We’ve done justice to our petition – Atiku, PDP .To adopt final written address today

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the refusal of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to grant them permission to inspect the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) central server.

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal presided over by Justice Garba Mohammed had ruled that granting Atiku and PDP’s request would amount to pre-judging the main issue meant for trial during the substantive hearing of the petition.

The tribunal held that INEC had denied the existence of the said central server and insisted that results of the election were not electronically transmitted into any server as alleged by the petitioners.

It also held that granting the application would amount to deciding the central issue in the petition at the interlocutory stage.

Dissatisfied with the ruling of the tribunal, the petitioners headed to the apex court seeking to reverse the decision and allow an inspection of the server.

Delivering the lead ruling on Tuesday, Justice Chima Nwaeze said the lower court was right to have restrained itself from granting the application of the petitioners, since parties in the petition at the tribunal had joined issues on the existence or non-existence of INEC central server.

Justice Nweze, stated that the lower court was emphatic “that there is no doubt that the court will be accused of bias if it had proceeded to grant the application by Atiku and PDP.”

He also stated that the discretion of the lower court in resisting the temptation of granting the petitioners’ application cannot be questioned by it, since it was judicially and judiciously taken.

More so, Justice Nweze stated that the appellants cannot allude to denial of fair hearing when in fact they failed woefully to furnish the court with material and documentary evidence to make the court rule in their favour.

Atiku represented by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) had pleaded with the court to set aside the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which refused to compel INEC to allow the PDP presidential candidate access to the central server allegedly used in the conduct of the presidential poll.

The lawyer told the five- man panel of the apex court that access to the INEC’s central server is germane to the joint petition of Atiku and PDP, and urged the court to grant the request of the appellants by ordering the electoral body to allow access to the database.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) asked the court to turn down the request and to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that the appeal has become academic.

Olanipekun drew the attention of the court to the fact that the life of the appeal will expire tomorrow and even if the request is granted, it will serve no purpose to the two petitioners since they have long closed their case.

Olanipekun further told the court that parties will today (Wednesday) adopt their final written addresses at the tribunal after which a judgment date will be fixed.

The position of Olanipekun was however, adopted by counsel to INEC, Yunus Usman (SAN) and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Charles Edosamwam.

Also, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court struck out an interlocutory appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku Abubakar in the last presidential election after they withdrew the appeal on Tuesday.

Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), who represented the appellants, told the apex court that the appeal is statute barred, the time for it having expired.

The appeal marked SC/738/2019 was filed against a ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Court in which it held that the Atiku and the PDP do not have a reply to an application filed on May 14, 2019 by the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking among others, the dismissal of their (Atiku and the PDP) petition challenging Buhari’s victory at the last presidential election.

In a ruling on Tuesday, a five-man panel led by Justice Datijo Mohammed, unanimously struck out the appeal for having become statute barred.

The respondents did not oppose the withdrawal of the appeal, but thanked the appellant counsel for doing the right thing.

Justice Mohammed said in the lead ruling that “following the withdrawal of the appeal without any objection, the appeal is hereby struck out.”

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 election, Atiku Abubakar and his party, the PDP, say they have done justice to their petition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal challenging the victory of Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

Atiku’s lawyer, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), made the assertion against the backdrop of Tuesday’s decision of the Supreme Court to decline request by Atiku and PDP to have access to inspect the central server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Atiku, who spoke through his lead counsel at Tuesday’s proceedings, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), said that this kind of decision was anticipated and that proactive action had been taken during the hearing of the petition.

Jegede said that the issue of server which was aimed at establishing that the election was rigged during collation of results was thoroughly addressed through witnesses, documents tendered and admitted during the presentation of the petition.

He restated that Atiku and PDP have already done justice to all the replies made to their petitions by the first respondent (INEC), second respondent (Buhari) and the third respondent (All Progressives Congress) in their final written address.

For the avoidance of doubt, he reminded that the issues for determination which have been well articulated in the final written address are whether the second respondent (Buhari) was at the time of the election qualified to contest the election,

whether the second respondent (Buhari) submitted to the first respondent (INEC) affidavits containing false information of a fundamental nature in aid of his qualification for the said election.

Other issues raised by Atiku and the PDP include, whether from the pleadings and evidence led, it was established that the second respondent (Buhari) was elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election, whether the presidential election conducted by the first respondent (INEC) was invalid by reasons of corrupt practices

and whether the presidential election conducted by the first respondent (INEC) was invalid by reasons of non compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and the electoral guidelines 2019 and the manuals issued for the conduct of the elections.

He expressed optimism that the tribunal would do justice at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Atiku and PDP will today adopt their final written address in the presidential election petition challenging the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election.