In a marathon 12-hour judgment, the Presidential Election Petitions Court has dismissed petitions from Allied Peoples Movement (APM); the petitions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar; as well as the petitions of Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February 25, 2023 election.
The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani did not only dismiss the consolidated petitions of the PDP, the APM and the LP, the panel also clearly affirmed the victory of Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, in the presidential poll.
Justice Tsammani said, “This petition accordingly lacks merit. I affirm the return of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are to bear their cost.”
Here are the key rulings that led to the dismissal of these petitions:
Tinubu’s US drug-dealing forfeiture not criminal indictment
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has ruled that President Bola Tinubu cannot be disqualified on the basis of his forfeiture of drug money in the United States.
The verdict was declared by Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Presidential Petition Election Tribunal on the petition on Wednesday.
According to the PEPT, Tinubu was previously cleared by the Nigeria Police Force of any criminal issues in the US, which came through an inquiry the police had made to US law enforcement.
The court disclosed that Tinubu has been able to enter and exit the US, and that suggests he has no criminal case.
In his ruling, Tsammani said the judgement of the US District in Northern Illinois which ordered the forfeiture of Tinubu’s $460,000 in a drugs-related case was in civil proceedings in which Tinubu was not a party.
On the issue of non-qualification due to an alleged criminal indictment, the petitioners had contended that Tinubu had forfeited $460,000 in the US as an indictment in drug trafficking.
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According to the tribunal, the evidence (Exhibit P5) tendered by the petitioners shows that it was a civil forfeiture proceedings.
Justice Tsammani held that the petitioners failed to provide credible evidence to show that Tinubu was arraigned, took a plea or was sentenced or fined in any criminal suit in the US.
“The order of forfeiture in Exhibit P5 on which the petitioners have relied does not qualify as a sentence of fine for an offence involving dishonesty or fraud within the confabulation of Section 137(d) of the 1999 constitution,” Tsammani said.
According to the tribunal, civil forfeiture is not a conviction or a criminal charge.
Too ‘Generic;’ Obi, Atiku Failed to Specify How They ‘Won’ Feb 25 Election
The Presidential Election Petitions Court has issued a ruling stating that the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, did not adequately specify how they garnered the majority of lawful votes in the February 25 presidential election.
Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, in the lead judgment, pointed out that the political party had made general allegations of irregularities, vote suppression, and corrupt practices that allegedly deprived them of votes, particularly in the states of Rivers, Benue, Lagos, Taraba, Imo, and Osun. However, they failed to specify the affected polling units.
Furthermore, Justice Mohammed stated that the LP was unable to substantiate the allegations of overvoting against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and failed to demonstrate the actual reduction in their votes.
Similarly, in response to Atiku’s petition, the lead judgement read by Justice Moses Ugo, the panel said PDP failed to name places where the ballot boxes were snatched, how the BVAS machines were manipulated and the affected polling units where the alleged malpractices took place.
Also, Justice Tsammani held that PDP’s allegations of violence, ballot box snatching did not provide videos or evidence, adding that the allegations were criminal and ought to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Strikes out 25% requirement: FCT not special than other states
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal declared that the Federal Capital Territory does not hold a higher status than other states in the country.
PDP and LP that two-third of votes in 24 states of the federation and the FCT was a requirement to be declared winner of the presidential election.
However, Justice Tsammani referencing Section 134 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), said, “If the candidate scores 25 per cent or a quarter of the votes of the 37 states of the federation, FCT inclusive, the presidential candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected even if he fails to score 25 per cent of the votes in the FCT as the votes of the second respondent (Tinubu).”
Double nomination case dismissed
The court dismissed the petition of the APM and the LP challenging the qualification of President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima over double nomination as a pre-election matter.
Reading the lead judgment on Wednesday, Justice Tsammani held that the issues brought before the tribunal were pre-election matters, which ought to have been at a high court.
He added that the timeframe of 180 days within which to determine the issue had elapsed.
“In Alhassan and others versus Ishaku and others, it was held (Supreme Court) that an election tribunal has no jurisdiction on the primary of a political party,” he said.
He said the matters of qualification and disqualification are guided by the provisions of sections 131 and 137(1)(a)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution.
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He held that the issue complained of was an internal affair of a political party.
The panel said the decision it made, and that of the Supreme Court on May 26, applied to the other petitions.
The APM had contended that Tinubu and Shettima were not validly nominated to contest the February 25.
They contended that when Kabiru Masari announced his withdrawal as an APC placeholder on June 24, 2022 to the date Shettima’s name was submitted, he was still the APC candidate of the Borno Central Senatorial District, was forwarded to INEC on July 14, 2022 and it was 21 days, which breached Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which provides for 14 days for the replacement of a candidate for an election.
Dual citizenship case not part of pleadings
The court also dismissed Atiku’s case alleging dual citizenship and drug conviction against Tinubu, considering them as new issues not included in his pleadings.
Atiku claimed that Tinubu failed to disclose in his form EC9 that he holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and Guinea, having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Guinea.
But Justice Moses Ugo held that the issue cannot be brought under non-qualification of Tinubu.