The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on
Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its
presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of
President Muhammadu Buhari at the February 23, 2019 poll.
The Justice Mohammed Garba-led tribunal unanimously
dismissed the case for lacking in merit after resolving all the five issues
raised in the case against the petitioners.
Justice Garba, who read the lead judgment held that none of
the grounds upon which the petition was anchored was proved.
The tribunal held that the petitioners merely dumped
documents particularly electoral materials, including result sheets, used for
the election on the tribunal without demonstrating them by tying the evidence
of any of their 62 witnesses to the documents in their bid to prove the
allegations in their petition.
The tribunal held that none of the documents tendered by the
petitioners was utilised to prove the allegations, such as overvoting.
It added that contrary to the claim by the petitioners,
Buhari was eminently qualified educationally to contest the election.
It added that Buhari did not give false information to the
Independent National Electoral Commission to aid his educational qualification
to contest the poll as alleged by the petitioner.
Justice Garba also held that the petitioners failed to prove
that the results were transmitted electronically by card reader.
He ruled, “In the final result, I have come to the
conclusion, which is inevitable and unavoidable, that the petitioners have not
discharged the burden of proof required of any of the grounds of the petition
in paragraph 15 of the petition.
“This petition is accordingly, and hereby dismissed in its
entirety.”
Other members of the panel were Justices Abdul Aboki, Joseph
Ikyegh, Samuel Oseji, and Peter Ige.
The judgment which started around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday ended at 5:58 p.m.
when the other members of the panel delivered their supporting opinions.
