By Fadehan Oyeyemi The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has pleaded with the Pres...
By Fadehan Oyeyemi
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has pleaded with the Presidential Election Petition
Tribunal to summon enough courage to do substantial justice to his petition
seeking the nullification of Ahmed Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25
election.
Atiku pointedly said on Sunday that contrary to the threat
of Tinubu, heavens would not fall when he (Tinubu) is sacked by the tribunal as
Nigeria’s president on the account of massive electoral fraud that brought him
into office.
In his final written address, Atiku dismissed Tinubu’s
threat as an empty one deployed to scare the tribunal from upholding justice in
the petition challenging Tinubu’s election.
In the final written address by his lead counsel, Chief
Chris Uche, SAN, the former Vice President recalled the courageous position of
the Supreme Court in the case of Rotimi Amaechi, where the apex court held that
heavens would not fall when justice is done in the manner prescribed by law.
Justice George Adesola Oguntade, who delivered the Supreme
Court judgment in the cited authority, had said: “I must do justice even if the
heavens fall. The truth, of course, is that when justice has been done, the
heavens stay in one place and in peace.”
Atiku asked the tribunal to invoke the courage displayed in
the past Supreme Court judgment to settle his petition against Tinubu by
disregarding the threat of monumental chaos issued by Tinubu to shield himself
from justice.
The former Vice President maintained that Tinubu had lost
the moral and legal rights to be in office as President of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, having admitted a punitive forfeiture of $406,000 in a narcotics
and money laundering-related matter.
Besides, Atiku accused the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) of manipulating the results of the presidential election in
the most corrupt manner in favour of Tinubu and thereafter, unlawfully
proclaimed him (Tinubu) the winner of the election.
Citing the alleged brazen subversion of the popular will of
the voters by INEC in favour of Tinubu, the former Vice President appealed that
the proclamation of the electoral body is voided and set aside and in its
place, declare him the winner of the election having convincingly scored the
majority of the lawful votes.
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