By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — Determined to prove its allegations that the April 16 presidential election that produced President Goodluck Jonathan was fraught with irregularities, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, yesterday, persuaded the election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja, to extend the time originally allotted for hearing of its suit seeking to void the election results.

The CPC, via a motion filed by its counsel, Mr Ismaila Al-Hassan, secured the leave of the five-man panel of justices at the tribunal, allowing their motion to be taken outside the pre-hearing session.

The party had in a separate application it filed before the panel, sought and secured an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to seal all the Direct Data Capturing, DDC, machines, and the ballot boxes used for the presidential elections, saying it would subject them to extensive forensic analysis with a view to proving that the poll was rigged by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Though the panel accordingly granted the request, however, the CPC yesterday re-approached the tribunal with an application seeking an extension of the pre-hearing period.

Meantime, President Jonathan, his Vice, Namadi Sambo and the PDP, have gone before the Supreme Court to challenge the propriety of the suit.

They are challenging the decision of the Appeal Court President, Salami, to continue hearing the suit despite that it was filed on a Sunday.

The respondents in the appeal before the apex court, enumerated seven legal grounds which they relied upon to insist that the Justice Salami led panel erred in law when it declined to dismiss the suit seeking to sack President Jonathan from office.

The appellants had on July 6, pleaded the 5-man panel of Justices to terminate the legal action on the premise that it was smuggled into the court registry on Sunday May 8, an action it said ipso facto rendered the suit nugatory and dies non-juridicus.

They argued that Section 137 (3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), Order 3 Rule 9 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011, Order 46 Rule 4 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009 and Paragraphs 4 (d) and 47 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), forbade the filing of election petitions on a Sunday.

They also faulted section 140(2) and section 134(4) of the Electoral Act which the CPC relied upon to seek a nullification of the April 16 presidential election, insisting that the tribunal was bereft of the powers to order a re-run election in a situation where the candidate of the petitioner in the contested election, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, were not joined as necessary parties in the suit.

However, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Salami on July 14, he held that the tribunal had the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, stressing that terminating the petition at that stage would tantamount to burying the contention of the CPC on the ground of technicalities.

He relied on the provisions of section 150(1) of the Evidence Act, to hold that there was presumption of regularity by the court, noting that, “the hay days of relying on technicalities were over.”

The Appeal Court President further maintained that the respondents, failed to disclose the injury, injustice or damages they stand to suffer should the case be heard on its substance.

Meantime, 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.