By Charles Adingupu
Challenging the impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 election, Alhaji Atiku Åbubakar has told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that INEC lacks any legal right to defend the President-elect, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, in the drug and dual citizenship accusations brought against him.
Atiku, who described INEC as a “meddlesome interloper” says its continuing defence of Tinubu’s qualifications to run in the last presidential election makes it a busy-body fishing in another person’s troubled waters.
He was reacting to a motion on notice moved by INEC Counsel, Mr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, praying the Court to strike out most of the allegations Atiku made against Tinubu in his petition.
INEC wants the court to strike out 32 allegations made against Tinubu by Atiku including the alleged forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States of America (USA) over drug related offence, possession of Guinean Passport and an allegiance to a foreign country.
Atiku is challenging the declaration of Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the joint winner of the February 25 presidential election.
However, INEC said the allegations which formed 32 paragraphs in Atiku’s petition should be discountenanced by the Court for various reasons including lack of jurisdiction.
Annoid, Atiku through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, in a counter argument lambasted INEC and asked the Court to dismiss the electoral body’s position.
He argued in the counter affidavit that it was not the duty of INEC to do the battle or argue any case for Tinubu who is the 2nd defendant in the petition.
Specifically, Atiku’s lead counsel insisted that INEC ought to be neutral and defend only the conduct of the election in dispute.
He argued that the electoral body has now turned itself to a busy-body and meddlesome interloper in taking up the defence of Tinubu against the provisions of the law.
The Senior Advocate maintained that the request of INEC in its defence of Tinubu was not only spurious and strange but constituted a gross abuse of court process apart from lacking merit.
“INEC ought not be here to fight the battle of Tinubu, INEC ought to be neutral and at best, defend only the election it conducted and which is the subject of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku’s petition.
“‘This application by INEC in support of Tinubu lacks merit. It is grossly incompetent and should be outrightly rejected and thrown to the dust bin,” Atiku’s lawyer stated.
The lawyer, therefore, asked the court to dismiss INEC’s motion for being a gross abuse of court process, lacking in merit and grossly incompetent.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, has fixed ruling for the date of judgment in the substantive petition.
