The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has directed the president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to investigate the conduct of the Ogun State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal under the chairmanship of Justice Ebiowei Tobi.
This was contained in a letter dated November 19, 2015 with reference number NJC/ETD/B60/S.1/X1/955 by the CJN to the Appeal Court president
This was contained in a letter dated November 19, 2015 with reference number NJC/ETD/B60/S.1/X1/955 by the CJN to the Appeal Court president
The directive followed a petition written by the senator representing Ogun East at the National Assembly, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, alleging miscarriage of justice in the case instituted against his election by Mr. Dapo Abiodun, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election.
The CJN wrote in the letter, “I forward herewith a petition dated October 29, 2015 by Senator Buruji Kashamu against the Ogun State National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal under the chairmanship of Hon. Justice Ebiowei Tobi for your necessary actions, please.”
In the petition, Kashamu had said: “Upon receiving the certified true copy of the judgment after it was delivered, I found, to my utmost surprise, that the tribunal members ignored the facts of the case before them and descended into the arena.
“A careful perusal of the judgment vis-à-vis the pleadings of the petitioners showed that 91 out of the 110 polling units that the tribunal nullified were not even pleaded by the petitioners let alone evidence being led to them!
In the petition, Kashamu had said: “Upon receiving the certified true copy of the judgment after it was delivered, I found, to my utmost surprise, that the tribunal members ignored the facts of the case before them and descended into the arena.
“A careful perusal of the judgment vis-à-vis the pleadings of the petitioners showed that 91 out of the 110 polling units that the tribunal nullified were not even pleaded by the petitioners let alone evidence being led to them!
“Upon a study of the judgment, I discovered that the tribunal in a desperate attempt to assist the APC cancelled the result of 110 polling units many of which were not part of the polling units challenged by APC. Had the APC complained about these polling units in their petition, my lawyers would have been in a position to provide evidence in respect of those polling units.
“I was shocked because I am aware that the tribunal has no power to cancel polling units, which were not challenged in the petition before it.
“I was shocked because I am aware that the tribunal has no power to cancel polling units, which were not challenged in the petition before it.
“I was however more shocked when I discovered that the entries that the tribunal used in the judgment as the basis for its decision that there were irregularities and discrepancy in the scores of the parties in the INEC Forms EC8A (II) and EC8B (II) did not emanate from the result sheets and voters registers submitted to the tribunal in evidence.”
Kashamu, who expressed his confidence in the anti-corruption stance of the CJN, said he wrote to lodge the complaint about the conduct of the members of the tribunal and to request that the CJN use his good offices to carry out a thorough investigation of the matter and to ensure that anyone found culpable was prosecuted.
Kashamu, who expressed his confidence in the anti-corruption stance of the CJN, said he wrote to lodge the complaint about the conduct of the members of the tribunal and to request that the CJN use his good offices to carry out a thorough investigation of the matter and to ensure that anyone found culpable was prosecuted.
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