SAN FRANCISCO, September 11, (THEWILL) – The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The judgement by the five-member tribunal was read by the Chairman, Garba Mohammed saying the petitioners failed to prove their petition beyond reasonable doubt and the petition “is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”
The tribunal said Atiku and the PDP provided no evidence that the 2019 general election was not in compliance with the Electoral Act noting that a number of allegations brought by the petitioners to back their claim of massive non-compliance to electoral guidelines across the nation were not substantiated.
“The petitioners have a duty to prove all the allegations which are criminal in nature beyond reasonable doubt.
“The petitioners pleaded that so many of their agents were situated in various polling units and that members of the first respondents connived with security agents to conduct massive rigging.
“They also alleged that no real voting took place in Dekina local government area, among others,” the judge said.
The court however added that the PDP failed to call the polling unit agents who would have testified to the fact that they were arrested, harassed or affected by the violence pictured by the petitioners.
“Like I had mentioned, there is no admissible evidences to link the witnesses with the allegations of non-compliance to the electoral act or of corruption.
“In the final result, and I have come to the conclusion which is inevitable and unavoidable, that the petitioners have not proved any of the grounds of the petition in paragraph 15 of the petition.
“This petition is accordingly and hereby dismissed in its entirety,” says Justice Mohammed Garba, who led the five-man panel sitting at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
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