Presidential Election Petition Appeal: How the Appeal Court went on a shopping spree to Support President Buhari’s claims

A court of law according to the Webster dictionary is “a court that hears cases and decides them on the basis of statutes or the common law”

Statutes in law is a body of law consisting of written laws adopted by a legislative body. Statute law is often contrasted with case law, which originates from decisions of the appellate courts; and with constitutional law, based on a country’s written constitution.

Father Christmas

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, instead of relying on evidence presented to the court by the 3rd Respondent, the APC and the 2nd Respondent, the APC’s Presidential Candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, went on a shopping spree, looking for information that were not pleaded by the respondents to support their claims.

What an aberration. Justice Mohammed Garba’s Court became a father Christmas, dishing out judgements on issues not pleaded for by the respondents.

Read Ground 19 of the PDP and Atiku/Obi’s appeal at the Supreme Court

GROUND 19: ERROR IN LAW

The Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they held as follows:

“That is not the end of the matter. I take it a little further that even if the newspaper Report containing the Army denial Exhibit P24 can be accorded probative value or weight, the newspaper Exhibit P24 and in particular the statement or refutation made by Brigadier General Olajide Laleye on 21st January, 2015 does not at all support the position of the Petitioners that the 2nd Respondent has no certificates or that he was not educated up to Secondary School Certificate. Exhibit P24 point blank confirms that the 2nd Respondent obtained a WASC Certificate otherwise known as West African School Certificate and that he attended the Schools listed in his FORM CF001 Exhibit P1.”

PARTICULARS OF ERROR

The Court of Appeal made a case which none of the Respondents made.

The unequivocal claim of the 2nd Respondent is that the Certificates he listed in Exhibit P1 “are currently” with the Secretary to the Military Board.

Brigadier Laleye clearly stated in Exhibits P80, P24 and R23 that the Nigerian Army does not have the original copies or Certified True Copies of the 2nd Respondent’s Certificates.

There is nothing in Exhibit P24 that confirms that the 2nd Respondent obtained WASC Certificate.

The confirmation can only be made by a production of a Certificate or a Certified True Copy of it.

The finding of the court below is speculative.

It’s time to #RescueNigeria

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