ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, has made a passionate plea to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, urging them to summon enough courage to do substantial justice to his petition seeking the nullification of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 25 February election.
Atiku specifically stated that despite Tinubu’s threats, there would be no cataclysmic consequences when he (Tinubu) is ousted by the tribunal as Nigeria’s President due to the massive electoral fraud that brought him into power.
In his final written address, Atiku dismissed Tinubu’s threats as mere intimidation tactics, aimed at dissuading the tribunal from upholding justice in the petition challenging Tinubu’s election.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s position in the case of former Governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi, where the apex court boldly proclaimed that heavens would not fall when justice is served in accordance with the law, Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, emphasized the need for the tribunal to demonstrate similar courage in settling Atiku’s petition against President Tinubu, regardless of the monumental chaos threatened by Tinubu to shield himself from justice.
Atiku argued that Tinubu had forfeited his moral and legal right to hold the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by admitting to a punitive forfeiture of $406,000 in a narcotics and money laundering-related matter.
Furthermore, Atiku accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating the presidential election results in a corrupt manner to favor Tinubu and subsequently unlawfully declared him (Tinubu) as the winner of the election.
Citing the alleged brazen subversion of the voters’ popular will by INEC in favor of Tinubu, the former Vice President urged the tribunal to nullify the electoral body’s proclamation and instead declare him the rightful winner of the election, as he convincingly obtained the majority of lawful votes.