BREAK DOWN OF THE JUDGEMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL PETITION COURT(PEPC)~ E.U OLUBOR ESQ.

BREAK DOWN OF THE JUDGEMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL PETITION COURT(PEPC)~ E.U OLUBOR ESQ.
1. Respondents failed to prove substantial non compliance with the electoral act:
A.i The electoral act didn't make it mandatory for electronic transmission of results to a viewing portal
A.ii only the guidelines makes provisions for that alongside manual transmission of results
A.iii the statements of the INEC chairman and the guidelines cannot take preeminence over the electoral act
A.iv the PEPC discountenanced the petitioners'  argument that failure to transmit to the I-rev invalidates the whole process
B. The PEPC found that the petitioner's failed to prove electoral malpractices having failed to provide result sheets from the contested polling units. According to  her  Lordship Bolaji Yusuf, the petitioner needed not solely rely on INEC to present them a certified copy of the result, it would have sufficed if the petitioners have presented signed result sheets given to their agents which the petitioners claimed were present across the country failure to do so meant that they witheld material evidence which might have not been in their favour.
C. The Court also discountenanced some of the testimony presented by some of the witness at the polling units as hearsay, having reported what they were told and not witnessed specifically.
2. On whether or not the Respondent, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was qualified to contest having been allegedly convicted by the U.S Court for narcotics trafficking. The Court held that the respondent has been previously exonerated by an investigation carried out by the Nigerian police in 2003, which resulted in the FBI writing to the IGP that the respondent has never been convicted for any criminal offense in the U.S. 
Not only that, the records show that the said forfeiture was a civil forfeiture in rem as against against an action impersonam, as the records show the matter was losted in the bouquet of the U.S judicial system.
3. On whether the vice presidential candidate was qualified having been accused of allowing himself to be nominated for two different offices.  The court held that itis estopped from looking into this issue. The Supreme Court having previously decided in favour of the respondent. Even if the court wasn't estopped, the court held that the allegation was a pre-election matter and not one of the grounds highlighted under the constitution and the electoral act for bringing a petition. Furthermore the court held that it was an internal issue of the APC and the Petitioners don't have the locus standi to present the petition.
4. On the issue of failure to get 25% in Abuja. The court employing a global reading of the Constitution i.e reading section 134 and 299 of the Constitution. The court arrived at the conclusion that Abuja does not any special status and describing the assertions of the petitioner as falacious..
In general the Court re-affirmed the Sui generis (been of his own kind) nature of election petitions. The usual errors that would be allowed in a regular civil proceedings would be heavily punished at an electoral Court. In short, you swim and die with your lawyers.

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