The five-man panel at the Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja has thrown out the petition of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) challenging the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan at the 16 April 2011 general elections.
The landmark ruling delivered just moments ago today dismissed the CPC petition for lack of merit and comes after six months of intense legal battle.
At the last hearing on the matter, while adopting his final address, Counsel to the CPC, Oladipo Okpeseyi had told the court that he filed a preliminary objection against the defendants' written address. He claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had abandoned its plea when it failed to call witnesses to substantiate them.
According to Okpeseyi, INEC had called only three witnesses out the 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and as such had abandoned its defence.
Wole Olanipeku, counsel to President Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, in his final address, urged the court to dismiss the petition against the president and his VP.
He was joined by Adegboyega Awomolo, INEC's counsel, who maintained that a party is supposed to rely on evidence presented before the court.
They agreed that the CPC failed to meet proof of evidence. In adopting his address prior to the ruling, counsel to PDP, Amaechi Nwaisu said that the CPC's preliminary objection lacked merit. Nwaisu had asked the court dismiss both the petiont and the preliminary objection.
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