The Nigeria Supreme Court has said that it would give its verdict on Monday over an appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, challenging the refusal of former Appear Court President,
Justice Ayo Isa Salami, to dismiss the petition challenging the election of President Goodluck Jonathan by opportunity, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
The Congress for Progressive Change and its defeated candidate in the last April presidential poll, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler and retired Major-General, had challenged the victory of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan who has since been sworn-in as president.
Buhari would want the court to annul Jonathan’s mandate, believed to be a popular one by both home and foreign observers, and that the court should, instead, declare CPC as the winner. But the various parties asked Mr. Justice Salami to dismiss the prayers of the CPC which he rejected.
The PDP, therefpre, took its fight to the Supreme Court. The appellant wanted the matter dismissed in favor of the fact that it was filed on a Sunday, amongst other seven legal grounds enumerated for the Supreme Court to consider so as to be more familiar with how the dismissed Appeal Court Judge, Salami, erred in law.
PDP had on July 6, pleaded the five-man panel of Justices presiding over the presidential election petition, to terminate the suit filed before it by the CPC, contending 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.
The party alongside the duo of President Jonathan and his Vice, Namadi Sambo, 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 has 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, adding that “the hay days of relying on technicalities were over.”
The Appeal Court President further maintained that the respondents, PDP and Jonathan, failed to disclose the injury, injustice or damages they stand to suffer should the case be heard on its substance.
Challenging the decision PDP, via the appeal it lodged through its counsel, Chief JK Gadzama, SAN, sought an order of the apex court, “setting aside the lower court’s ruling, allowing the appeal and dismissing and /or striking out the Petition for being incompetent”.
It also sought an order striking out INEC and names of its 36 resident electoral commissioners, from the suit, insisting that it was a mis-joinder.
PDP argued that the panel erred in law when it held that “In the instant case, the Petitioner’s Petition as has been said earlier bears the stamp and imprimatur of the Registrar and Registry of the Court of Appeal as having been filed on the 8th day of may, 2011 and therefore provides prima facie evidence of the regularity or otherwise for this court to invoke the presumption under Section 150 of the Evidence Act in favour of the Petitioner”.