Why we sanctioned Wike’s election – Supreme Court

The Supreme Court yesterday gave reasons for its January 27 judgment upholding the election of Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) as governor of Rivers State.
 It explained that its decision was informed by its finding that the petitioners at the tribunal – the candidate of the All progressives Congress (APC) in the election, Dakuku Peterside and his party – failed to prove their case of malpractices and non-compliance as required.
A seven-man panel of the court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, held that the tribunal and Court of Appeal, which earlier voided the election, were wrong to have based their decisions on the petitioners allegations of the INEC’s officials’ failure to adhere to INEC’s manual, guidelines and directives on the exclusive use of the card reader for accreditation and the hearsay evidence presented by the petitioners.
The court reiterated its position that card reader was not a sufficient replacement for manual accreditation. It further held that the non-compliance with INEC’s manual and guildlines by its officials in the conduct of election was not a sufficient ground to void the election.
The apex court was also of the view that Dakuku Peterside and his party failed to discharge the burden of prove placed on them having alleged misconduct including violence, disenfranchisement and non-compliance.
The court held that the tribunal denied Wike and his party, the right to fair hearing by allowing a wrong panel to deliver ruling on an application they filed, challenging the competence of the petition.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, while giving reasons for the position she took in the lead judgment, held that it was wrong for Justice Suleiman Ambrosa, the later chairman of the tribunal, to have chaired the panel that delivered the ruling on the application by Wike and PDP when he was not the chairman as at when the application was argued.
Of the 11 issues considered in the appeal, Justice Kekere-Ekun resolved seven in favour of Wike and the PDP and four in favour of Peterside and APC who were listed as respondents in the appeal marked: SC/1002/2015.
The issues resolved in favour of Peterside and APC were those related to preliminary issues of service and locus standi.
Justice Kekere-Ekun noted that but for the fact that the case was election mater, the error committed by the tribunal, in not according some of the respondents fair hearing was a sufficient ground to have voided the entire proceedings before the tribunal.
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