Nosike Ogbuenyi
7 January 2008
Lagos — One of the landmark tribunal cases that will go a long way in shaping political trend in the country this year is the presidential election petitions pending at the Appeal Court, Abuja.
It is one central case that carries along with it great suspense and expectations from all the parties involved as well as the politically enlightened populace. The tribunal will come alive on Monday, the 28th of this month when it will assemble final addresses of the contending parties and possibly announce a date for the much awaited judgment.
Last week, the stage became set for the determination of the petitions challenging the election of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua by the presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and his Action Congress (AC), counterpart, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as they were both served the final address of the president whose election they are hotly disputing. The final address of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was annexed to that of his principal, Yar'Adua.
In like manner, the other two principal respondents to the petition, namely, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also served the petitioners their respective final addresses. The process is indeed crucial as it paves the way for an accelerated consideration and adjudication of the case. With this the tribunal is poised to enter its final lap towards the expected judgment next month, baring unforeseen developments.
The Justice James Ogebe-led tribunal had earlier consolidated the petitions of Buhari and Atiku on the premise that they were both targeted against the same object, the declaration of Yar'Adua, the PDP candidate, as the winner of the April 21, 2007 presidential election. The two defeated candidates are praying the tribunal to void the election outcome on the ground that the exercise was marred by massive frauds and irregularities.
At the last sitting of the tribunal on December 20, after the opening and closure of the respondents' defences, the tribunal fixed January 28, 2008 for all parties in the two petitions to adopt their written addresses. It was decided by the tribunal that judgment date will be fixed on the adjourned date.
Subsequently, the respondents in the petitions were given 21 days to
File their addresses while the petitioners were given 20 days upon receipt to reply, with the respondents having another seven days to reply on point of law. Justice James Ogebe, while fixing the date for adoption of addresses, ruled that public holidays would also count in the days for the exchange of addresses.
The camps of Buhari and Atiku have confirmed that they have been served with the final addresses. The Head of Chamber of Rickey Terfa Chambers, Barrister John Olusegun Odubela while speaking on behalf Terfa (SAN), Atiku's lead counsel, expressed hope that the prior service approach would hasten proceedings of the tribunal.
"With this approach, I don't see the judgment going outside four weeks (one month) after the hearing of January 28. This is because all the parties will adopt the written responses on that date," Odubela said.
Buhari's lead counsel, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) on his part, disclosed that they were served with the final addresses on 28th December. He said: "Having received their addresses. I am now very comfortable. What they filed is their final addresses but if we raise any fresh point, they will be given a chance to respond within a specified period."
Ahamba assured that his clients would definitely respond to the addresses within the time allowed. He would not however divulge what Buhari's response would be like. "Just wait and you will see it. There is an Igbo proverb which says that a parcel that is to be opened does not require to be nibbled at. When we respond, it will be a public document," he assured.
Buhari's spokesman, Mr. Osita Okechukwu also commented stressing: "All I can say is that Buhari's lawyers are currently in possession of the addresses. Our legal team is working on them as appropriate. We have implicit confidence in the judiciary." Okechukwu expressed joy that INEC did not deny what he described as "the contradicting multiple results" of the April 21, 2007 election in its final address.
At the last hearing of the case on December 20, President Yar'Adua and Vice President Jonathan had tendered some documents in which they claimed that they actually won the April 21 presidential election even as the tribunal said that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and General Muhammad Buhari (rtd) could not stop the tendering of the documents.
The documents, which were admitted in evidence by the tribunal include the entire results of Lagos state for the poll in which Atiku, the candidate of AC was declared winner. Yar'Adua's Certificate of Return (COR) issued to him by INEC was also tendered and admitted in evidence. Yar'Adua's lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) who tendered the documents had told the court that the reason for tendering the Lagos State results would be explained to the whole world during the parties' final addresses to the tribunal.
All the respondents in the consolidated petitions of Buhari, candidate of ANPP and the AC flagbearer, Atiku, opened and closed their defence at the last session on December 20. The respondents include Yar'Adua, Jonathan, INEC, Police, Chief of Defence Staff and PDP.
For now, the legal teams of Buhari and Atiku are busy working hard to produce the counter responses to the final addresses of the respondents. The fireworks go on beneath the scene until the next session of the tribunal on January 20.
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