₦airaland Forum

*HIGHLIGHTS ON THE VERDICT OF THE COURT OF APPEAL IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PETITION*

1. On qualification: the Judges agreed that the Petitioners have a burden of proving that Buhari is not qualified and did not discharge that burden.

Analysis: The Issue of qualification is a constitutional requirement and the grounds for qualification are many. A person desirous of standing for election must identify the best constitutional provision that makes him qualified and use as his qualification. A person is not allowed to simply say that he/she is qualified after the election, by relying on any of the Constitutional provisions. You must choose your qualifications and swim or sink with it. Buhari did not say that his qualification was being educated up to secondary school certificate level, he said that he obtained the secondary school certificate. He did not rely on his ability to speak, understand and write English language, he said that he had the Secondary School Certificate, not the equivalent. Therefore, he is to swim or sink with a Secondary School Certificate.

Conclusion: the Court of Appeal is manifestly wrong to have enlarged Buhari's grounds of qualification by ascribing to him, qualifications that he never claimed to rely on in his form CF001. The burden of proof is on the party who alleges. However, the burden shifts to the Respondent the moment the Petitioner showed that the 2nd Respondent did not meet the requirement of qualification as required in form CF001, (which is a form made pursuant to the Electoral Act and therefore part of the Act) to attach all evidence of educational qualifications.

a. The Petitioners showed the Court that the 2nd Respondent did not attach the certificates he relied on for his qualification as a mandatory requirement of the Electoral Act vide the Form CF001. It then becomes the duty of Buhari to show why he did not attach evidence of his qualification to the said form.

b. In his bid to justify his failure to comply with the law as required in form CF001, to attach evidence of his educational qualifications, Buhari deposed to a separate Affidavit (not the verifying affidavit that forms part of the form CF001) at the FCT High Court in 2014, wherein he claimed that his certificates as listed in the form CF001 are currently with the Secretary of Army Board.

c. The Petitioners show to the Court that that Army denied the claims in that Affidavit. At this point, it became the duty of Buhari to produce the Certificate from the Army and he failed to do so. In fact, Buhari never testified in Court. Instead, his own witness testified against his interest upon their own questions. The Petitioners discharged their burden of proof even beyond the threshold of the criminal law standard.

2. False Declaration: The Court agreed that the Petitioners failed to proof that Buhari lied in aid of his qualification.

Analysis: this angle of the decision is most mind boggling of all. The Court went out to shop for a defence for Buhari and thereby fabricated an explanation for the lies. One of the judges even called this ground an allegation of perjury, thereby showing his total lack of understanding the provision of the Electoral Act.

Conclusion: Interestingly, the Court totally decided to be ignorant of the decision of the Supreme Court in *ABDULRAUF ABDULKADIR MODIBBO VS. MUSTAPHA USMAN & 2 ORS.* delivered on 30th July, 2019 wherein the meaning of FALSE DECLARATION was defined and the consequences/standard of proving same were established. They went on a voyage of inferences and imagined that Buhari truly submitted his certificates to the Army in 1961 even when his Course mate clearly stated in open Court that none of them gave any certificate to the Army. The judges choose to disregard these testimony by saying that the witness was not in the position of making that determination. Remember, Buhari brought him in order to make the point that they submitted their certificate to the Army. So, this is the Court, making overt efforts to defend Buhari.

Note that, Buhari never claimed that his certificates were missing or that he is unaware of its whereabout. He made a clear declaration in an affidavit that his certificates were with the Army. The Petitioners demonstrated that the Army have denied being in possession of the certificates. At this points, it becomes the duty of Buhari to make sure that the Army produce his certificates. He is making a positive assertion that a certificate exist, while the Petitioners asserted that it doesn't. So, a negative assertion cannot be proved, it only needs to be stated. It is the duty of the person who asserts the positive to proof its existence. Buhari failed to do this and the Court applauded him for it for failing to produce his certificates from the Army for the inspection of the Court.

3. Server. The Court agreed that the Petitioners did not proof the existence of a server and the transmission of Election results to the INEC server.

Analysis: the entire case of server was built and centred on INEC. INEC denied having any server in their Reply to the Petition. During the trial, the Petitioners called many INEC Ad-Hoc staff who participated in the 2019 Presidential Election. They all confirmed, in their testimonies before the Court, that they were trained by INEC to transmit the result of the Election electronically using the Smart Card Reader. INEC Cross-examined them using the content of the Petition and the Statement on Oaths deposed to by the Ad-Hoc staff. INEC, Buhari and APC never asked any of the Ad-Hoc staff any question from the content of their own (INEC, Buhari and APC) Replies to the Petition, wherein their denial of Server and transmission were contained. Therefore, neither INEC, Buhari nor APC can rely solely on answers gotten from these Ad-Hoc staff as their defence in this case. Even one of the Judges agreed that INEC abandoned their defence and as such the Petitioners only needed to proof minimally in respect of server and the transmission of results. But, the lead judgment was conclusive that INEC and APC did not abandon their defence and that they were even right to rely on the evidence extracted from the cross-examination that did not emanate from their pleadings - what a court!

The Judge who made an addendum on the question of server, observed that INEC failed to call any witness to contradict the witnesses of the Petitioners and that by so doing, INEC had abandoned their defence, having not extracted the evidence they relied on from their own pleadings. This is the correct law. This admonition only reveals that the Court knew the truth, but went on to please the powers that be.

Conclusion:
It is a sad day for any nation, for judges to constitute themselves as businessmen ready to hand judgment to the most powerful. The judgment of the 9/11/19 was anything but a decision based on the evidence before the Court.

The judge never made any reference to the defence of any of the Respondents in his judgment. He went on to obtain evidence that were never before the Court and relied on same to dismiss the Petition. He inferred that Buhari must have got a certificate before the Army recruited him in 1961, inspite of conflicting evidence of when exactly Buhari even joined the Army. One of the judges told Nigeria that an old witness cannot lie, but forgot that the same witness had said Buhari was recruited into the Army in 1962. So, where the judges actually the 4th Respondents? Yes, they were and that was the reason for their unanimity of decision. They gave a judgment that is disconnect from the facts and laws placed before them.

Nigerians are not surprised at all. Nigerians already forecast that the Court is weak and helpless. The Court of Appeal only confirmed this belief.

It is not left for the Supreme Court to decide if Nigerians can look to the Judiciary for any hope of justice. The Supreme Court will have to decide if Nigerians need to determine what qualification they intend to rely on for contesting election and how they are to show that they posses the qualification they've chosen to rely on.

For now, qualification is needless as a claim of having one, without more, will suffice. Atleast, that was the thinking of persons who called themselves judges.

They did but buhari and INEC reduced their votes.

YOU WILL BE SURPRISE TO SEE TONY NWOYE AS THE GOVERNOR ELECT OF ANAMBRA STATE COMES NOVEMBER 19TH 2017.

They should not protest but enjoy the CHANGE.

The news is not True. SR.

Governor that court will soon remove.

gr8gem:
Before nko? Abi Inec wan declear am inconclusive. Congrate dickson

In order news:
Monday: Bible study
Tuesday: deliverance
Wednesday :church practice
Thursday: Prayers
Friday: Nigeria Vigil
Saturday: Church Cleanings
Sunday: Services
No Youth Empowerment Day
No Women Society Engagement Day
No Physical Skill Acquisitions Day
No Plan for your upbringing
No plan for your future
All because of one thing

. Don't spoil my religious faith pls.

TheNextAce:
You for sit on top the car and take a selfie... Lol

. Ok.

Op, find out the correct spelling of the game, U failed it.

Chukwu aju! Kpaaaaa!

Wike has an immunity.

See What A Madam Did To A Boy In Ilorin For Allegedly Stealing Her N500. For Allegedly Stealing Her N500. For Allegedly Stealing Her N500. All of U have concluded that the boy stole the money, what of if the boy is not the one that stole the money?

UP GEJ, MAN OF PEACE.

good

Merciless Messi

My dear fellow fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo of Lagos and entire Nigeria. Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus and Saviour. The threat from Oba Rilwan Akiolu upon Ohaneze ndi Igbo shall not be taken likely.

Nigeria and Lagos belong to every single one of us. We were never cursed by our parents when we left home to sojourn in another state. Neither has any of our Igwe's or Obi's or Eze's cursed or threatened any tribe especially the Yoruba's with death. So we do not see why the Oba of Lagos will threaten Igbos and other tribes with death because of election.

It is our right to choose or vote who we feel like supporting. It is not compulsory that we must vote Ambode and we are not going to continue to leave under the bondage of Tinubu, Fasola and most especially the oba who has no conscience but to threaten our lives and that of our family.

We are the children of Israel and Zion and no weapon formed against us shall proper and any tongue (oba Rilwan Akinolu) shall be condemn in the might name of Jesus.

We therefore declare a special fasting on Friday 10.04.2015, for all Igbo's in Lagos and Nigeria to pray against this threat of the Oba. It shall be back to sender prayer. We shall not die but live and declare the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We also advice every single one of us to go out massively and vote for who we feel is the right person for us. Tinubu will never put us (Ndi Igbo) in his pocket again.

Please circulate this message to all your Igbo brothers, sisters, children and friends where ever they may be living in Lagos state.

God bless and protect Ohaneze Ndi Igbo. God bless Lagos State and God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria. Amen.

My dear fellow fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo of Lagos and entire Nigeria. Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus and Saviour. The threat from Oba Rilwan Akiolu upon Ohaneze ndi Igbo shall not be taken likely.

Nigeria and Lagos belong to every single one of us. We were never cursed by our parents when we left home to sojourn in another state. Neither has any of our Igwe's or Obi's or Eze's cursed or threatened any tribe especially the Yoruba's with death. So we do not see why the Oba of Lagos will threaten Igbos and other tribes with death because of election.

It is our right to choose or vote who we feel like supporting. It is not compulsory that we must vote Ambode and we are not going to continue to leave under the bondage of Tinubu, Fasola and most especially the oba who has no conscience but to threaten our lives and that of our family.

We are the children of Israel and Zion and no weapon formed against us shall proper and any tongue (oba Rilwan Akinolu) shall be condemn in the might name of Jesus.

We therefore declare a special fasting on Friday 10.04.2015, for all Igbo's in Lagos and Nigeria to pray against this threat of the Oba. It shall be back to sender prayer. We shall not die but live and declare the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We also advice every single one of us to go out massively and vote for who we feel is the right person for us. Tinubu will never put us (Ndi Igbo) in his pocket again.

Please circulate this message to all your Igbo brothers, sisters, children and friends where ever they may be living in Lagos state.

God bless and protect Ohaneze Ndi Igbo. God bless Lagos State and God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria. Amen.

Gate of hell will be open as Bishop Oyedepo said.
RIP to the deads.

New Beginning!
I was left in tears when i read Presidents
Goodlucks
congratulatory message to Gen. Buhari
I was not crying because i felt like crying, i was not
crying cause i supported him and he lost, but i cried
cause his words arrested my emotions.
He wished his opponent a good administration
ahead, he congratulated him and accepted defeat.
I could remember by this time in 2011, Buhari never
accepted that he lost, he promised Jonathan that
he will
make his administration ungovernable for him and
he later fulfilled his promise. His supporters took to
the streets and slaughtered innocent Nigerians but
he never stopped the killings.
But today, he has won that same man that defeated
him in 2011 but got a congratulatory message
instead of threats. He has wished him success and
not promising him an ungovernable tenure.
Few weeks to the election, the people we call our
leaders were busy sending threats to themselves
and
leaving the poor masses gripped with fear. Some
people left the country with fear of the aftermath of
the election. But today you'v restored peace by
accepting defeat peacefuly.
Oh! Jonathan, you've shown us that you'r a good
man. You'v shown African leaders the true definition
of democracy. You wished not to influence the
elections with your powers, you wished not to
cancel
the election when you can do it and nothing will
happen.
Posterity will never forget you where ever you go. I
am still your fan for life. You'r a good and
gentleman
but sorrounded by ingrates and fools that care for
their pockets alone.
Oh Jona! You lost the election but won my heart....

ok

APC, everything na GEJ

Make sure U put on helmet

Same will soon happen to our own Anambra east and west Constituency, COMRADE TONY NWOYE will soon take over and refund for Cato. Lol.

I don't know Majid let alone his mother! RIP to d dead sha!

CFCfan: That was fast! What happens if the Appeals Court grants a stay of execution? Will Ngilari's swearing- in be declared null and void? These turn of events could lead to anarchy in Adamawa. THERE WILL BE NO STAY OF EXECUTION, APPEAL MAYBE ON WHILE D SWORNED GOV WILL BE ON SIT.

KEYAMO! U 2MUCH BIKO KWA!

If U believe everything U read, U better don't read at all. Lie lie pastor

Is Boko Haram using d missing jet now? I prayed not so

APC blames PDP for E-Rufai son's death. Heading to Court tomorrow wednesday after public holiday today. RIP HAMZA.

Global manpower limited is a Business process Outsourcing for Globacom Nig.