APC, Buhari Files Cross-appeal at S’Court, Seeks Deletion of Evidence of Atiku’s Witnesses

In a counter move against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and
its candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar,
the All Progressives Congress (APC) has filed a cross-appeal
against the evidence of three data analysts who testified for the
petitioners at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

The party in the cross-appeal filed by its lead counsel, Prince
Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), wants the Supreme Court to expunge the
evidence of the three Information Communication and Technology
(ICT) experts who testified on the existence of server allegedly
used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to
store results of the February 23 presidential election.
A copy of the cross-appeal, filed at the Supreme Court registry in
Abuja, on Tuesday, was obtained wednesday.

The three key witnesses are Segun Sowunmi, a media aide to
Atiku, David Njoga, a Kenyan and Joseph Gbenga.
They had in their testimony informed the tribunal that they
analysed presidential election results state by state and found
discrepancies in the results credited to Atiku and APC candidate,
President Muhammadu Buhari.

They alleged that in the results sheets they analysed, the votes
of Atiku were deliberately depleted while that of Buhari and APC
were inflated.

The Kenyan expert in his evidence said INEC used the server,
saying that he penetrated it to obtain the alleged authentic
results of the February 23 presidential election, which ran counter
to the one declared by the electoral body.

But Fagbemi in the cross-appeal pleaded with 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.

Fagbemi also wants the apex court to expunge their testimonies
and documents from the records 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.

Fagbemi 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 tribunal.

Besides, he also sought an order of the apex court to strike out
Atiku’s allegations of electoral malpractices in 10 states of the
federation on the grounds that the allegations of the electoral
fraud were vague and not specific as required by law.
According to him, the petitioners did not state the specific
polling units were the alleged fraud were committed, hence they
must be expunged for lacking in merit that can warrant the tribunal
to look into them.

Atiku on Monday had filed a 66-ground of appeal upon which he
predicated his prayers for setting aside the tribunal’s judgment
that upheld the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23
presidential election.

The PDP candidate 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.
Meanwhile no date has been fixed for the hearing of the
appeals.

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