By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — The ongoing legal tussle before the presidential election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja, assumed a new dimension yesterday, with President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, vowing to drag the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, to the Supreme Court.

Their decision to approach the apex court was sequel to the refusal of the Justice Isa Ayo Salami-led five-man adjudicatory panel, to terminate the petition that was filed before it by the CPC.

Justice Salami not only dismissed two separate preliminary objections filed by President Jonathan and his party, PDP, but equally fixed August 1 to hear the case of the petitioner, CPC, on its merit.

It would be recalled that the two respondents had on July 6, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition in its entirety, contending that it was smuggled into the court registry on May 8 which was a Sunday, saying that the action ipso facto rendered the suit nugatory and dies non-juridicus.

Ruling on the preliminary objections yesterday, the tribunal maintained it had the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, noting that terminating the petition at this stage would tantamount to burying the contention of the litigants on the ground of technicalities.

The panel relied on the provisions of section 150(1) of the Evidence Act, to hold that there was presumption of regularity, just as it stressed that “the hay days of relying on technicalities are over.”

Justice Salami who read the ruling yesterday, held that the respondents failed to either disclose the injury, injustice or damages they stand to suffer should the case be heard on its substance.

Consequently, the panel held that the petition was competent and should be heard on its merit, though it however agreed with the respondents that it was wrong for the CPC to accuse the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security, the Civil Defence Corps and the Nigerian Army of complicity in election rigging, without joining them as necessary parties in the suit.

The court held that since the allegations raised by the CPC questions the integrity of these agencies, it would negate the principles of fair hearing to determine the case without hearing their own defence. It therefore struck out Paragraph 14 (d) and (iv) of the petition.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, counsels to the two respondents vowed to challenge it at the apex court.

Meantime, the tribunal yesterday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to grant the petitioner access to both the bio-metric database created by the Direct Data Capturing machines as well as all the ballot papers that were used during the April 16 presidential poll.

The respondents had earlier pleaded the court to decline the request, arguing that section 125(3b) of the Electoral Act and the 1st Schedule of the Act, prohibited the electoral body from disclosing who an electorate voted for in an election.

“My lord, what they are asking this court is for an order that would enable them to know who each electorate voted for, this is not a matter that should be swept under the carpet considering that it is a dangerous request”, argued Mr J.I Ogboru, SAN, who represented President Jonathan yesterday.

It would be recalled that the CPC had gone to court with a view to voiding the results that were garnered by the PDP in all the 17 states in the South , as well as those of Sokoto, Kaduna, Plateau, Kwara, Benue, Adamawa, Nasarawa states, in the North and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

The party alleged that the ballot papers meant for certain polling units were illegally diverted to other units and were subsequently used for ballot stuffing, even as it has equally asked the tribunal to declare that president Jonathan failed to fulfill the requirement of section 134 (2) of the 1999 constitution.

It is specifically praying the tribunal to nullify the April 16 presidential election and order a re-run between it and the ruling PDP.