For  the third time in as many elections, the Presidential Candidate of the  Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the April 16, 2011 presidential polls, Major General  Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), yesterday lost his bid to overturn the election of a sitting president when a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court affirmed the election of President Goodluck Jonathan.

And as he had done in 2003 and 2007 when he ran on the plank of the All Nigerian Peoples Party(ANPP) and lost to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, respectively,both at the polls and in the law courts.

Buhari yesterday  rejected the ruling, saying that it was politically motivated and had little or no judicial content. He warned the government to save the country from imminent collapse.

This came as mixed reactions trailed the verdict with President Jonathan and House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal advising Buhari to accept the verdict in good faith and join hands with the government to develop the country as supporters of the ruling party embarked on victory dance in Abuja.

Among those, who spoke on the ruling yesterday were  Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), Mr. Bamidele Aturu, Wale Ogunade, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and  Society for Rule of  Law in Nigeria (SRLN).

In their unanimous judgement, the  panel of Justices led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, affirmed the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which on November 12, 2011dismissed the petition that the CPC filed against the outcome of the presidential poll  as grossly lacking in merit.

Whereas it was Justice Olufunlola Oyelola Adekeye that prepared and read the lead judgement, the CJN who was absent in court yesterday and five other justices on the panel, concurred with the ruling.

The court dismissed the appeal on grounds that the CPC failed to substantiate alleged acts of non-compliance it claimed substantially affected the outcome of the election. The apex court maintained that the appellant was unable to discharge the burden of proof as stipulated in section 136 of the Evidence Act, noting that “from all indication, this petition was doomed to fail from the first day it was filed.”

“Every legal practitioner ought to know that this appeal was bound to fail. A close look at the case of the appellant will show that it is principally seeking two reliefs, the nullification of the April 16 election and an order mandating INEC to conduct a fresh election.

Where these two vital reliefs were not available to the petitioner in view of the evidence it tendered before the tribunal, it reduces the appeal before this court to a mere academic exercise that does not justify the sleepless nights we had writing this judgment. This is why I implore members of the bar to always tell their clients the truth in respect of cases like this”, Justice Mahmud Mohammed Tanko, who led the panel yesterday, noted.

“Concurring, Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi, said the CPC should not complain of fair-hearing after it failed to maximise adequate time that was accorded to it by the election petition tribunal to present its case.
The position of the law is that he who asserts must prove. The court below correctly evaluated the evidence before it. The case of the petitioner collapsed on November 12 after the tribunal in its ruling expunged the evidence of petitioners PW-1, Mr Anthony Momoh, which dealt with the issue of non-compliance as alleged by the appellant. There is nothing before this court indicating that the ruling was appealed”, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour noted.

Specifically the court held that “before a petition can succeed on grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the petitioner must prove that the non-compliance actually took place and substantially affected the result of the election as was decided in the case between Awolowo and Shagari.

“Consequently, the 3rd and 4th respondents (Jonathan and Sambo) won the April 16 presidential election conducted by the 1st respondent (INEC) and were returned by the 2nd respondent (Professor Attahiru Jega) as the duly elected President and Vice President Respectively.  This appeal failed in its entirety and is hereby dismissed. Parties are to bear their respective costs,” the Supreme Court ruled.

Responding to the verdict, Buhari said he had resolved to leave the issue of justice in the hands of God Almighty, alleging that “the decision of the Supreme Court is politically motivated and has little judicial content.”

Source:The Vanguard