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The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging the outcome of the February 23, 2019 presidential election in its entirety.
“This petition is accordingly, and hereby dismissed in its entirety,” says Tribunal.
“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.
Below are some of the key decisions reached in the main judgment:
1. President Muhammadu Buhari was eminently qualified to contest the Feb. 23, 2019 presidential election
2. Buhari did not give information in an affidavit submitted to INEC concerning his academic qualification
3. The manual for the election issued by INEC did not provide for electronic transmission of results of the election
4. Petitioners failed to prove that election results were transmitted electronically.
5. Petitioners’ Witness 59, who was brought from Kenya, failed to prove that there was an INEC server.
6. PW59 relied on hearsay information about the said INEC server posted on a website, www.factsdontlie.com by a purpported whistleblower who was never known.
7. Card reader machine was not used to transmit results during the election but for mere authentication of authentication ownership of voter cards.
8. Petitioners merely dumped documents particularly electoral materials on the tribunal without demonstrating them by tying the evidence of any of their 62 witnesses to the documents in their bid to prove the allegations in their petition
