Dismiss Atiku’s Experts’ Report – APC Tells Supreme Court

– The ruling party, APC, has asked Supreme Court not to consider reports tabled before by opposition party, PDP

– The opposition party is challenging some portions of the September 11,  judgment of the PEPC

– The ruling party wanted an order of the apex court striking out Abubakar Atiku’s allegations levelled against it

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has filed a cross-appeal before the Supreme Court, challenging some portions of the September 11, 2019 judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

The PEPC had, in its judgment upheld the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the last election. Buhari contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the cross-appeal, which is a direct reaction to the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Atiku Abubakar, the APC is praying the Supreme Court, to among others, void the evidence by three expert witnesses called by the petitioners before the PEPC.

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The witnesses are Segun Sowunmi (Atiku’s media aide), David Njorga, a Kenyan (who claimed to be an ICT expert) and Joseph Gbenga (who claimed to be data analysts, but admitted before the PEPC not to posses any certification).

In the cross-appeal by APC’s legal team, led by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the party urged the Supreme Court for an order setting aside the evidence of the three witnesses and the documents including video clips tendered through them from the bar.

The party also wants the apex court to outrightly expunge their testimonies and documents from the record of the court for being inadmissible in law.

The APC argued that the tribunal erred in law when it held that the evidence and the documents of the three witnesses were considered in the interest of natural justice.

It also wants an order of the apex court striking out Atiku’s allegations of electoral malpractices in 10 states of the federation on the grounds that the allegations of electoral fraud were vague and not specific as required by law.

The party said the decision of the tribunal on the point was untenable on the grounds that the issue of admissibility or otherwise of a document is a point of law and not natural justice as erroneously held by the PEPC.

It argued that the petitioners did not state the specific polling units where the alleged fraud were committed, hence, they must be expunged for lacking in merit that can warrant the tribunal to look into them.

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Atiku had on September 23 filed a 66 grounds of appeal upon which he predicated his prayers for setting aside the whole decision of the presidential election petition tribunal, which upheld the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election.

The PDP candidate specifically faulted the decision of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led panel, which held that Buhari did not need to attach his academic certificates to the INEC’s form CF 001 before he can stand for the presidential election.