By Eric Elezuo

The 12-hour long judgment, contained in 800-page document, and delivered by the five man panel of Justices of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) on Wednesday, left majority of Nigerians more confused than before. Debates and discourses have become the other of the day ever since the legal luminaries made their pronouncements.

The judgement is simply summarised in less than a few words, that ‘the petitioners failed to prove’ anything aginst the first, second, third and fourth respondents. The Judges added that they wasted the time of the court with frivolous petitions they could not prove, thereby dismissing the suit for lacking merit. This has left a sour taste in the mouth of Nigerians, and again bringing to question the slogan that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

On August 1, 2023, the trio of the Allied Peoples Movement, the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi and the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, closed their cases in the Appeal Court, leaving the judges to reserve judgement till a later date.

However, on September 3, 2023, the public was alerted of the judgement for September 6, after widespread rumors of dates unconfirmed.

The D-day was more of the jamboree; Nigerians throng the court while some stayed glued to their TV sets to follow proceedings. Then, there was the first confusion; voices of judges were heard, but their faces were not seen. The laborious reading of the 800-page document reduced the courtroom to a sleeping palour; lawyers, journalists, Party officials and court staffers all slept off on camera, proving the boring nature of the event and the unexpected turnaround of the Constitution in the quest to give judgement to all the petitioners.

One respondent said that It appeared we were only hearing the words of Chief Wole Olanikpekun (SAN) in that judgement. It also appears the judges simply copied the final addresses of the respondents, copied all their objections and pasted them as judgement for the rest us to waste almost half the day listening. This has become an issue of more confusion as all the documents released by the tribunal bear the watermark of the tinubu legal team.

In his reaction, veteran journalists, chief Dele Momodu lamented that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was brazenly and deliberately turned upside down, just as Constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome described it as ‘judocracy against Nigerians’.

In the same vein, prominent Nigerians, including the presidential candidates of the PDP and Labour Party, has expressed their displeasure as regards the judgment, which not a few has condemned, owing to its ‘blatant disregard of the constitution’.

In his message disowning the judgment, the PDP candidate said during a press conference in Abuja:

“I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election.

“As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25, Presidential Election.

“My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.

Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.

The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress. Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.

Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate.

On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu Yar’Adua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war. We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the Press, I thank you for your attention.

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN also lent his voice in the piece below:

PETC Verdict on 2023 Presidential Election: Time for Sober Reflection 

The verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court was not totally unexpected, given the stark realities facing us as a nation and the state of the law.

The principles of presumption of regularity of elections and that of substantial conformity make it extremely difficult to prosecute elections successfully.

In this particular case, the burden placed upon the petitioners in order to upturn the election was practically insurmountable. To make matters worse, INEC practically fought the petitioners to a standstill, as if it was an interested party in the whole process.

I honestly don’t think anyone expected a different verdict from what was delivered in Abuja today. The tension was completely unnecessary.

This is why we emphasize always that the focus of anyone hoping to birth a true change in our electoral history should be on the electoral umpire. Without first unbundling INEC to make it more independent, non-partisan and effective, anyone declared “winner” will most often coast to victory in the election tribunal.

Today’s verdict should be a reason for sober reflection by all, especially for the parties in court, their lawyers and all lovers of democracy. The petitions could have been decided purely on points of law and within few days of the election.

There can be no real victory in the resolution of the legal issues by the court when the fabric of our democratic engagements seem to have been hijacked and compromised. Part of the lesson in this process is for us to go back and review the electoral process and the litigations following it. INEC as it is presently constituted cannot birth any credible election in Nigeria.

In all, may be there was too much expectation that the status quo will be upturned, whereas many of the principles of law canvased had long been settled by the apex court.

While encouraging all parties to continue in towing the paths already defined by law for the ventilation of grievances, we owe Nigeria an urgent duty to dismantle INEC, urgently.

In her reaction, former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, took to her X handle to express as follows:

“The *#PEPTJudgement* is rightly being contested by the petitioners who have headed to the final arbiter, the Supreme Court.

“As arduous as the Constitutional Process is in our Democracy, my admiration is for all Citizens who have refused to “simply move on”.

“Democracy belongs to Citizens, not politicians and regulators, no matter how entrenched they may be.

“So *#AllEyesOnTheJudiciary* is still a thing, until the entire Constitutional Process is exhausted.

“Liberating society and people from an entrenched and perverse political culture is never a dash.
Stand on.”

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, also instructed his lawyers to immediately challenge the ruling of the five-member Presidential Election Petitions Court led by Justice Simon Haruna Tsamani.

Obi disclosed this at a press conference in the commercial town of Onitsha, Anambra state on Thursday in reaction to the PEPC ruling, where he copiously acknowledged the Court’s contributions to due process and the seeming attempt to strengthen our democracy.

Find below the full text of the Press Conference…..

Yesterday, 6 September 2023, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) finally delivered its long-awaited judgments on the Petitions challenging the outcome of the presidential election held on 25 February 2023. This judgment was delivered within the statutory time frame under the extant statutes. We acknowledge the Court’s contributions to due process and the seeming attempt to strengthen our democracy.

2. As petitioners in this case, we respect the views and rulings of the Court, but we disagree with the Court’s reasoning and conclusions in the judgment it delivered. It is my intention as a presidential candidate and the intention of the Labour Party to challenge this judgment by way of appeal immediately, as allowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

3. The PEPC has rendered its judgment, but that esteemed body is not the final arbiter. The responsibility now falls on the Supreme Court. I do know that judgment is not coterminous with justice. I implore Nigerians to remain focused, steadfast, and peaceful; abide by the rule of law, and understand that this matter has not reached its logical conclusion.

4. Our legal team has already received our firm instruction to file an appeal against the decision. I shall not relent in the quest for justice, not necessarily for myself but indeed for our teeming supporters all over the country whose mandate to us at the polls was regrettably truncated by INEC.

5. The strength and value of our democracy reside in solid national institutions and our confidence in them. Electoral litigations will be almost unnecessary and nonexistent if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discharges its statutory functions creditably, transparently, and with discernible fairness. When that body fails, as it did recently, thus subverting the will of Nigerian voters, the recourse to the judiciary becomes imperative, as is now the case.

6. I thank every Nigerian who has supported our cause and campaign for a New Nigeria characterized by fairness, equity, justice, the rule of law, peace, prosperity, inclusiveness, sustainable growth, and development. A New Nigeria is possible and achievable. I especially thank our legal team, the Labour Party and Obidient Family, and all those who showed up daily during the court trials. God bless you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Again, an X user, writing under the heading, IT IS NOT YET UHURU, LET THEM NOT REJOICE OVER THEIR PYERRHIC VICTORY AT THE APPELLATE COURT, lamented the outcome of the court case, saying it is not over yet, using the example of former Ethiopia leader, Emperor Haile Selassie, as a study.

He argued that by the judgment, it has become illegal to be law abiding, adding that desperate situations call for desperate actions.

He wrote: “Our heads are bloody but yet unbowed. Though the judges might have entered into an unholy alliance, to uphold the the corrupt system but time will tell and history will vindicate the just. During the naked invasion of Abyssinia now Ethiopia by Italy, the matter was taken to the League of Nations for adjudication. The League of Nations prevaricated in deciding who was right, instead of what was right. Emperor Haile Selassie 11 of Abyssinia, spoke to them, in this prophetic language. ‘God, history and posterity will remember you, for this judgement.’ Then came the WW 11 and it’s cataclysms. Was Italy able to maintain its hold over Abyssinia? Where is the League on Nations today? Where is Benito Mussolini today? He has been confined to the scrap heap of forgotten tyrants. He has been swept into the waste paper basket of history. Thus, the beat goes on !

If we cannot affect a change from the top, let’s prepare for a revolution from below. In a lawless society, it is illegal to be law abiding. Desperate situation calls for desperate action. It is now or never. When a slave realizes that he is a slave, he has taken the first step towards freedom. Thus, when slaves unite, Egypt of slavery will crumble. That we may die in the struggle, to take back our beloved country and foster a New Nigeria, should not deter us from fighting for a cause, we believe to be just. We know the truth and it shall set up free from this subjugation orchestrated by the Cabals, under Fulani hegemony. We can’t give up now. We have come to the tactical stage of Nigeria’s geo – politics, where Euclid, must be proved wrong and two political cum religious parallel lines will meet, to rid this nation of political vermin and economic vampires, to pave way for our political emancipation, economic regeneration and social rejuvenation. It shall come to pass on that day, as we accomplish this task and the man who actually won the election is sworn in. We all will join our hands together and sing the old negro spiritual. Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we all are free at last, from dictatorship, feudalism, neo -colonialism and imperialism. Glory be to our God.

We will never give up this fight, losing a battle is not losing a war. When the son of a new Africa is faced with the travails and tribulations of Gethsemane, Golgotha and Calvary, there is no need for his spirit to weaken. We are living spirits of an idea, the idea of a new Nigeria. We are also living spirits of an ideal, the ideal of man’s humanity to man, not the present dog eat dog in Nigeria. We will fight and dismantle this corrupt system , with the indomitable spirit of the Rangers, the vengeance of the Afghanistan’s untold meanness and with all the bitterness of a rejected suitor. God is always on the side of the oppressed. Proverbs 22 v 22 – 23 refer. We will never, never, never give up, else our future is sacrifice on the stinking altar of the immediate. This is a call for the urgency of now! Aluta Continua.

JUDGMENT NOT JUSTICE

A Concerned citien, Jacob David -Famoroti, joined PDP, Atiku Abubakar, to describe the outcome as judgment, not justice. he wrote;

“Even though, the PETC pronouncement between APC, INEC VS LP, and PDP as made on the 6th of September 2023 was not surprising to many due to the known “Nigerian Factor syndrome,” the judgment remains an utter shock to many and may not be recovered from for a long time.

“However, the long and short of it all can just be summarised as a charade that needs no further worry.

“Suffice it to say there is no further cause for worry or complaint from any side. The judgment has only affirmed that really, the only way to win an election in Nigeria is: “to hijack it, snatch it, and run with it”.

“Perhaps, others who are disfavoured by the pronouncement can only be advised to go and prepare for the next general election but, not forget the lesson and messages of çaution in the whole drama, instead of going to the Supreme Court that is only waiting to re-echo the same thing that the tribunal read out as judgment yesterday.

“Moreover, the hope of having a credible election and a reliable judiciary in this country has just been dashed and lost.

“Therefore, no one should be sorry about the fact that this is another clear failure of an electoral law – an addition to numerous Nigerian Laws fine in theory fooling in application.”

“No cause for worry, the judgement is just an affirmation that really, the only way to win an election in Nigeria is : “to hijack it, snatch it and run with it”. Perhaps, others who are disfavoured by the pronouncement can only be advised to rather go and prepare for the next general election but not forgetting this message of caution, instead of going to the Supreme Court that is only waiting to re-echo the same thing that the tribunal read out as judgement yesterday.”

The five Justices are Justice Haruna Tsammani, 64, Justice Stephen Jonah Adah, 66, Justice Bolaji-Yusuf, 64, Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo, 58, and Justice Mohammed Abba Bello, 62.

The entire nation awaits the decision of the Supreme Court as the final arbiter in the coming days.