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Presidential Tribunal: Heavens won’t fall if you’re removed, Atiku replies Tinubu
Atiku: A former Vice President and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has tackled President Bola Tinubu over his position that nullifying the outcome of the presidential election that held on February 25, may lead to anarchy in the country.
Atiku, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, said he observed that President Tinubu, in the final written address he filed before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, misunderstood the depth of issues that were raised against his election.
The PDP candidate, who placed reliance on Supreme Court decided case-law, maintained that the heavens would not fall, should the court nullify President Tinubu’s election.
According to him, “the fact that a presidential election has never been nullified by the Courts in Nigeria before now, is not a good reason not to do so now, as it is very just to do.”
In the process he filed before the court, Atiku, who came second in the presidential contest, stated: “At this stage, it is pertinent to observe from the outset that the 2nd Respondent’s Final Written Address, with respect, reflects a complete misconception and unfortunate misunderstanding of the case of the Petitioners, notwithstanding the magisterial arrogance, condescending cynicism and overbearing misanthropy with which he has sought to trivialise the Petitioners’ case, as will be shown hereunder.
“Furthermore, a subtle threat of apocalyptic catastrophe of national chaos and anarchy if a judgment is not given in a particular manner cannot deter a Court of law from doing justice.
‘The Court must do justice, rather ‘let the heavens fall’; but as courageously stated by the Supreme Court per Oguntade JSC, in the epic case of AMAECHI vs. INEC & ORS (2008) LPELR-446(SC) (Pp. 67-68 paras. D): ‘I must do justice even if the heavens fall. The truth of course is that when justice has been done, the heavens stay in place.’
“It is also pertinent to observe that the Final Written Address of the 2nd Respondent was filed in flagrant defiance of, and non-compliance with, the mandatory provisions of Paragraph 5(c) and (d) of the Election Judicial Proceedings Practice Directions, 2023, rendering same invalid.
“We urge your Lordships to discountenance as well as strike out the said Final Written Address for gross non-compliance,” he added.
Alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, “clearly mismanaged the election as shown by evidence,” the former VP, said the sole witness the electoral body produced before the court, admitted that the technological innovation introduced through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and transmission to the IReV portal, was to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the election results.
