The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, threw out the appeal by the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election, Mr. Atiku Abubakar, to inspect the central server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for lacking in merit.
In a unanimous judgment by a five-man panel led by Justice Chima Nweze, the appeal was dismissed on the grounds that Atiku and the PDP had failed to provide sufficient reasons why the application should be granted.
In a unanimous judgement read by Nweze, the court held that held that the request lacked merit because it was brought after the parties had joined issues on the existence or otherwise of the server.
He said the presidential election petition tribunal was in order in refusing to grant Atiku’s request at the time it was made so as not to prejudice other parties in the matter.
Besides, the judge said the appeal lacked merit because the appellants failed to prove how the decision of the tribunal was unfair to them.
Nweze further said a party can only complain of the lack of fair hearing when discretion of court was wrongly or arbitrarily used by the court, adding that in this instant case the tribunal used its discretion judicially and judiciously.
“I see no reason to depart from the decision of the lower court, the appeal is lacking in merit and is hereby dismissed,” the judge held.
Earlier, a five-man panel of the court led by Justice Dattijo Muhammad, had dismissed an appeal filed by the PDP and Atiku against a ruling of the presidential election petitions tribunal.
The appeal marked SC/738/2019 sought to upturn the decision of the tribunal which held that the petitioners lost its right of objection to the application by the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking the dismissal of their petition or expunge some parts of the petition having not filed a reply within the time prescribed by the law.
The plaintiffs had prayed the court to review the record of proceeding of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led tribunal held on June 11, to determine if the presidential tribunal was right when it held that the APC filed a valid reply to the petition against the outcome of the February 23 presidential election.
Although the court adjourned the appeal for hearing, at the resumed proceeding on Tuesday, counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, drew attention of the court to the fact that the constitutionally prescribed period for determination of such interlocutory appeal, had elapsed.
Ruling on the matter, the court struck out the appeal for having become statute-barred.
