88-Year Old Ben Nwabueze Leads Atiku, PDP’s Legal Team As Hearing Begins

Nigeria’s foremost constitutional lawyer, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN) appeared at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar today.

Professor Nwabueze’s appearance on Thursday coincided with the tendering of result sheets used in the February 23 presidential election by the PDP at the tribunal.

After reaching for the mic, Prof Nwabueze requested the panel to allow him make his address while seated. The chairman of the panel, Justice Mohammed Garba accepted his request.

In announcing his appearance, Prof Nwabueze the constitutional lawyer prayed the court to allow him to address them sitting down as he is unable to stand for too long owing to his age.

Having announced his appearance he asked the court to allow him hand over to Mr. Levi Uzoukwu to announce the rest of the team.

Proceedings have commenced in earnest.

The tendering of the documents and forms used in the election followed the end of the pre-hearing session and beginning of the main hearing of the petition today.

The five-member panel of justices on Wednesday also adopted the agreement of parties for Atiku and PDP to make their case within 10 days while the defendants will make theirs within six days. Thus the petitioners are also expected to call witnesses in week two of the main hearing.

On Wednesday, the tribunal dismissed an application by Atiku and PDP seeking to set aside the proceedings of June 11 in which it failed to reply to the motion of APC filed on May 15.

Atiku and PDP had filed a counter affidavit to the APC motion dated May 14, 2019, which its lawyer Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) withdrew and filed a similar motion of May 15, 2019, seeking to strike out some states such as Borno, Yobe, Niger, Katsina, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kanu, Gombe and Kebbi listed among the locations where electoral malpractices occurred.

APC also argued that Atiku and PDP’s petition is incompetent and contains errors, adding that the individuals and institutions such as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Nigerian Army, and Nigerian Police, who were alleged to have committed electoral offences, were not joined in the petition.

Atiku and PDP, through their lead counsel, Levy Uzoukwu (SAN), however did not file a counter affidavit to the fresh motion within the seven days provided by the law.

They contended that the failure of the tribunal to dismiss the motion which was withdrawn without prior notice, is a violation of the right to fair hearing.

In a lead ruling by the chairman of the panel, Justice Mohammed Garba held that the proceeding of June 11 was conducted within the requisite jurisdiction of the tribunal in line with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 and does not constitute a denial of fair hearing to the PDP.

The panel however did not grant Atiku and PDP alternative relief for the extension of time to file a counter affidavit to the pending motion of May 15 because the matter is no longer a live issue before the tribunal, having been appealed against at the Supreme Court.