Presidential Election Tribunal: Buhari not Qualified to contest the February 23, 2019 Presidential Election

…Updates from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal

….More Extracts from the PDP and Atiku/Obi’s Final Written Address

The relevant question now is, whether the 2nd Respondent, (Muhammadu Buhari), has shown in this court that he was qualified to contest the said election (February 23, 2019 Presidential Election) based on his claim?

We respectfully submit that he has not done so, rather, it is the petitioners that have proved that he was not qualified.

*…section 131 (1) (a) of the electoral act 2010 (as amended) provides that…”an election may be questioned under the following grounds, that is to say, (a) that the person whose election is questioned was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the elections…”*

Paragraph 361 – 382 of the 2nd Respondent’s response to the petition stating that the 2nd Respondent’s certificates were with the Nigerian Army, were not proved. 

Specifically, in Paragraph 381(II) of his Amended reply, he claimed that the affidavit of compliance to exhibit P1 “was correct in every material particular”. No evidence whatsoever was led to prove that claim. Rather, the Petitioners’ evidence to the contrary was not contested or challenged.

The Petitioners proved that the Nigerian Army had denied being in possession of the 2nd Respondent (Muhmmadu Buhari)’s alleged certificates and none of the Respondents challenged that evidence.

*One of the strongest evidence on the issue was given by the 2nd Respondent’s own witness, RW1, who under cross examination by the 1st Respondent (INEC), told the court firmly and unequivocally that the army did not collect the certificates of military officers and added …”there was no such thing”.*

In other words, RW1’s evidence was that the *2nd Respondent (Muhammadu Buhari), had submitted an affidavit to the 1st Respondent (INEC), containing false information of a Fundamental Nature in aid of his qualification for the election,* when he stated in his affidavit that “ALL MY ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS DOCUMENTS AS FILED IN MY PRESIDENTIAL FORM, PRESIDENT APC/001/2015/ ARE CORRENTLY WITH THE SECRETARY MILITARY BAORD AS OF THE TIME OF THIS AFFIDAVIT”. At the risk of repetition, RW1, said of the above claim, “there was no such thing”  

More to come…

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