Posted by By IKENNA EMEWU on
At last former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has made good his vow not to stop his fight against what he called the malfeasance of the April 2007 presidential election inconclusive.
At last former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has made good his vow not to stop his fight against what he called the malfeasance of the April 2007 presidential election inconclusive.
As a result, the ex-VP yesterday filed a bulky document at the appellate division of the Court of Appeal in Abuja faulting the entire judgment of the court delivered last month and asked the court to forward records of the proceedings and judgment of the court to the apex court for further adjudication.
The notice of appeal filed by counsel to Atiku, Mr. Ricky Tarfa (SAN) is predicated on 39 grounds or errors spotted in the judgment of the tribunal headed by Justice James Ogebe.
The grounds of appeal covers and complained against the entire judgment as a miscarruage of justice for allowing the presidential election which he contends the declared winner, President Umar Yar'Adua, never actually won.
However, Atiku promised to bring more errors in the judgment before the court on confirmation of reciept of the records of the appeal already filed.
Atiku's intention to go further with the matter was given vent to on the day of judgment as his counsel, Tarfa responded to the reading of the judgment by telling the justices that he is happy that nothing in the verdict delivered said his client has no right of appeal.
Likewise, Atiku is asking the Supreme Court to grant him four main reliefs which include a declaration and order that sets aside the entire judgment as a piece of worthless legal conclusion.
He also prays the court to annnul the election of April 2007 and also declare that Umar Yar'Adua never won the election which he argues was fraught with gross irregularities and non-complaince with the provisions of the Electoral Act meant for a free and fair election.
The AC presidential candidate prays the seven justices who will hear his appeal to make orders: allowing the appeal; setting aside the decision of the Court of Appeal dismissing the Petition of the Petitioners; nullifying the Presidential Election held on the 21st day of April, 2007 and granting the prayers of the Petitioners in the Petition.
He also wants a final order 'setting aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal delivered last month, rejecting as inadmissible in evidence, the 5th Defendant's Post Election Report marked ‘EXHBIT 2008 Rejected', and admitting the same in evidence for consideration in this appeal pursuant to Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act.
Some of the major errors Atiku complained against in the judgment which he wants upturned are that: The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal misdirected themselves on the facts when at the introductory part of their judgment at page 60 they held that 'the 1st Respondent scored a total of 24,638,063 while the 1st Petitioner scored 2,637,848 votes respectively'
'The lower court came to the conclusion as to the respective scores of the 1st Petitioner and the 1st Respondent without evaluating or resolving the evidence as to whether those votes were allocated as alleged by the Petitioners in paragraph 8 of the Petition".