Presidential election petitions: military, police issue warnings to protesters as courts decide president Wednesday
The military and the police have made it clear that they will not tolerate any illegal behavior by troublemakers ahead of the Wednesday verdict delivery by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, the director of defense information, advised anyone considering using violence on that day to abandon their plans.
In a statement on Monday, the tribunal said it would rule on the petitions challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s designation of Bola Tinubu as the victor of the 2023 presidential election on Wednesday.
As a result of his party receiving the majority of the votes cast in the election, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, had declared Tinubu the president-elect on March 1.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, Justices Stephen Adah of the Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf of the Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justices Moses Ugo (Court of Appeal, Kano), and Justice Abba Mohammed of the Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal will deliver the verdict on Wednesday.
The former governor of Lagos State received 8.8 million votes in the 2023 election, beating out 15 other candidates and PDP front-runner Atiku Abubakar, who received 6.9 million. Peter Obi, a candidate for the Labour Party, received 6.1 million votes.
However, five of the 18 political parties who ran candidates in the elections went to the court to dispute the electoral body’s decision.
Atiku and Obi, who have urged the tribunal to invalidate the former governor of Lagos’ election victory, are leading the opposition against Tinubu’s electoral victory.
The Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement were more disgruntled parties in addition to the PDP and the LP.
The AA and the APP’s applications were denied during the tribunal’s sessions by the five-person panel led by Justice Tsammani.
After the parties officially withdrew their petitions, the dismissal was the next step.
Atiku requested in his 66-page appeal that the court declare the election invalid and order a new election due to alleged irregularities that allegedly blighted the process in thousands of polling places.
In his joint petition with the PDP, titled CA/PEPC/05/2023, the former vice president requested that Tinubu’s certificate of return be withdrawn.
He said that Tinubu’s announcement as the winner of the presidential election was “illegal due to non-compliance with the terms of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
With the second-highest percentage of legitimate votes cast in the election, Atiku argued that Tinubu’s election was illegitimate due to fraud. He asked the court to declare him the winner of the presidential election and annul Tinubu’s.
In his words, the APC candidate “is constitutionally incapacitated from contesting for the post of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” and did not meet the constitutional requirement.
However, Tinubu questioned the legal validity of the petition in a response he submitted through his team of attorneys, which was led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN.
He characterized Atiku as a perpetual loser who, since 1993, has moved between political parties in search of the presidency.
Obi claimed in his appeal that there were anomalies in the election, pointing out that Kashim Shettima and Tinubu were allegedly ineligible to compete for office.
Additionally, he claimed that Tinubu did not receive more than 25% of the legal votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory as well as a majority of legal ballots.
He said that there were significant legal violations in the way the election was handled.
After the PDP, the LP, and the APM adopted their final written addresses on August 1, the panel postponed rendering a decision.
broadcast in real time
The Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal headquarters, Umar Bangari, however, announced the judgment day in a statement on Monday and mentioned that the tribunal decision would be broadcast live on television stations.
He pointed out that doing this will encourage openness and transparency while also allowing Nigerians to follow the proceedings.
The announcement read, “The Court of Appeal wishes to notify the general public that judgment on the following petitions before the Presidential Election Petition Court will be given on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
“CA/PEPC/03/2023 between Mr. Peter Gregory Obi and Anor vs. Independent National Electoral Commission and 3 Ors; CA/PEPC/04/2023 between Allied Peoples Movement vs. Independent National Electoral Commission and 4 Ors; CA/PEPC/05/2023 between Abubakar Atiku and Anor vs. Independent National Electoral Commission and 2 Ors.”
In an effort to encourage transparency and openness, interested television stations will broadcast these rulings live for the general public to watch.
On the day of the verdict, he added, only authorized individuals, such as attorneys and political party members, would be allowed entry to the courtroom.
“Only accredited visitors will be permitted on the court’s grounds. The courtroom will only be open to accredited individuals, such as attorneys and party officials.
It is suggested that interested members of the public watch the proceedings on television. We kindly request the public’s full participation to achieve a smooth exercise, the statement continued.
Gusau spoke about the security measures put in place to prevent the possibility of a breakdown in law and order on the day of judgment. He said that the Guards Brigade and Army Headquarters Garrison, working with other security agencies, would not lay down their arms and permit anyone to instigate trouble.
The DDI provided this information in response to inquiries from The PUNCH regarding the security order that would be put into place to guarantee public safety prior to or on the judgment day.
Gusau responded, “We have been keeping peace and security in coordination with other security agencies across the country. If there are any people who might be unhappy with the tribunal judgment, we will not prevent them from protesting.
The Guards Brigade and the Army Headquarters Garrison in Abuja, along with other security services, have been on the ground ensuring security in the FCT.
We will carry on with our work, and if somebody tries to cause trouble, we won’t just stand by and do nothing. We must carry out our duties.
We will continue to be vigilant as usual on the day of the verdict, working with other security organizations. When we witness someone trying to cause havoc while we are at work, we cannot remain silent. Why then are we out there (on patrol)?
In anticipation for Wednesday’s verdict, the police authorities have increased security in many states.
The Osun State Police Command declared that sufficient security measures had been implemented to guarantee the security of people and property.
There won’t be a crisis in any area of the state, the command’s spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, promised, “since necessary security measures have been supplied.”
Despite being ready and committed to protecting lives and property before, during, and after the ruling, she said, “We don’t feel any dread.”
The police in Kwara State also stated that they were prepared to quell any protest or demonstration that might occur in response to the ruling and the Nigeria Labour Congress’ forewarning strike scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
a police alert
The leadership indicated that its soldiers were ready to put an end to any protest or demonstration that may have been organized by miscreants in the event that the verdict did not sit well with them.
Although Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, was calm on Monday evening and there were no obvious security personnel present, Ajayi Okasanmi, the state police command’s spokesperson, claimed that the force was prepared to uphold the state’s peace and security.
“Since no form of protest or demonstration would be tolerated in the state, we are pleading with state legislators and the various political groupings to summon their members to order. Political leaders are urged to call their supporters and tell them not to plan any protests in the state at this time.
“This is a state of harmony, and the atmosphere is calm and serene, but our officers and soldiers are prepared to check any untoward movement or demonstration by any gang of miscreants who seek to disturb the serenity of the state,” Okasanmi said.
The Gombe State Police Command has also cautioned troublemakers to stay away from the state in light of the anticipated delivery of the decision on the presidential election petitions.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mahid Abubakar, confirmed the command’s readiness to handle any untoward incident and added that steps had been taken to ensure the security of people and property.
He warned that anyone seeking to cause disruption should stay away from the state lest they be apprehended and subject to the full force of the law.
The command is aware of the situation and given that Oqua Etim, the commissioner of police, has ordered that proper security measures be put in place to prevent any unanticipated events before, during, and after the verdict.
Speaking of its expectations, the PDP stated that since it had presented the election tribunal with data and facts pertaining to the February 25 election, it would not disregard the justices’ decision.
The panel understood what to do given the evidence at hand, according to the party’s spokesman, Debo Ologunagba.
We as a party won’t preempt the erudite justices, he said. We presented the panel with information and proof supporting our argument for contesting the election’s results. Elections are about rules, laws, and due process, so we arrived at the tribunal completely prepared with supporting documentation.
The justices will now review the available information before making their decision. This evidence, in our opinion, will influence how this case turns out. We believe we will prevail. The PDP and Atiku are not involved in this affair at all. Both the Nigerian people and the rest of the world are looking forward to this process’ conclusion.
“Everyone should be optimistic given the enthusiasm Nigerians have shown in this petition. The only thing the PDP is doing is increasing public sentiment. Therefore, we have no reason to believe that the decision will be against us because we are certain of winning, he said.
LP after appeal
The leadership of the Labour Party committed to go to the Supreme Court if it had any cause to question the verdict.
The National Legal Adviser of LP, Kehinde Edun, revealed this in a phone conversation on Monday.
Edun stated that he had no doubt that the LP would win the case “given all the evidence on the ground” in his confident statement before to the decision.
When asked if the party leadership would complain if the decision did not favor them, the national legal counsel shot down the idea, stating that the LP would rather to investigate the possibility of going to the supreme court.
No, there is no cause for protest, Edun said. Still, we have a choice. Naturally, the tribunal is not the supreme court. For the presidential election, it is merely the court of first instance. The first instance court is the court of appeal.
“Going to the Supreme Court is still an option. What is the justification for the protest following the Wednesday ruling? If there is a good reason, we will continue our appeal. Protest as a topic does not come up at all right now. You still have the option to ascend if you’re not satisfied. However, we doubt that will even occur. The victory will come to us.
“However, if things don’t turn out as we had hoped, we can now think about what went wrong. We shall resort to the Supreme Court if we find the cause to be unsatisfactory.
Bala Ibrahim, the APC’s director of publicity, expressed optimism about the possibility of a favorable judgement for the ruling party.
He stated that if the verdict was unfavorable, the party will follow the law.
According to Ibrahim, “We surely have more trust in the court than the cutlass anyone may wish to brandish. We are the ruling party and a progressive one.
A related development is that the Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered its employees to remain at home on Wednesday, the scheduled day for the tribunal judgment.
A staff member informed our correspondent that just a small number of authorized staff members will be permitted into the courtroom.
He continued, “We were informed today that we should not report to work on Wednesday and that only those with tags would be permitted into the court premises on that day. They said that it was for our own benefit. I discovered that individuals who report to work on Wednesday will receive tags. Only a few people will show up for work if that is done.
The subject, according to Chief Registrar Bangari, is an internal administrative problem.
The issue is one of internal administration. If the staff was requested to skip work on that particular day, it was an internal matter. That is not crucial. NLC has nonetheless called for a strike.
Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria Treasurer Musa Alonge declared that as a member of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the union will follow its rulings.
We are an affiliate of the NLC, and aside from that, we also have our own problems for which we will be providing the judicial authorities a 21-day deadline, he said. We are on track. We are going over our difficulties with compensation again.
