Buhari vs Jonathan: Salami hands-off suit

ABUJA — Following his suspension by the National Judicial Council, NJC, the embattled President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, Monday abstained from presiding over the suit seeking to sack President Goodluck Jonathan from office.

Consequently, only four Appeal Court Justices, led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garuba, sat over the petition challenging the outcome of the April 16 presidential election.

President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). Photo: Vanguard

The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, which filed the suit at the presidential election tribunal sitting in Abuja, had on August 1, filed a fresh motion, seeking an order declaring its candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the bona-fide winner of the presidential contest.

Nevertheless, when the matter came up for hearing on August 15, following contention of counsel to President Jonathan and the PDP, that they were not served with the motion on time, Justice Salami, deferred arguments on the application till yesterday.

He was, however, unable to continue further hearing on the suit yesterday due to his suspension by the NJC.

Meanwhile, at the resumed hearing of the petition, the seat hitherto occupied by Justice Salami was left vacant, even as only four justices that sat on the panel continued hearing on CPC’s application.

Moving the application seeking to sack President Jonathan from office, counsel to the CPC, Dipo Okpeseyi, SAN, pleaded the court to hold that the refusal of INEC to grant the petitioner access to all the materials used for the presidential election, was an indication that the election was rigged by the PDP.

His application was vehemently opposed by counsel to Jonathan, Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, who contended that granting CPC access to voters’ information in the DDC machines, would amount to an infringement on the right of privacy of electorate which he said was made sacrosanct by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

After listening to their arguments, Justice Garuba in consonance with other members of the panel, reserved ruling on the petitioners motion sine-die (indefinitely).

-By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

Source: Vanguard

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