Muhammadu Buhari V. Chief Olusegun A. Obasanjo (2006)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

M.L UWAIS, CJN

The Presidential Elections was held on the 19th day of April 2003 to fill the offices of the President and the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The election, which was conducted nation-wide by the 3rd Respondent/Cross Appellant, was contested by candidates from 20 political parties. The 1st Appellant/Cross Respondent together with another candidate (now deceased) contested the election as candidates of the 2nd Appellant/Cross-Respondent – All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) while the 1st and 2nd Respondents/Cross-Appellants contested as candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The 1st and 2nd Respondents/Cross-Appellants were returned by the 5th Respondent/Cross-Appellant as duly elected President and Vice-President, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria respectively.

The 1st and 2nd Appellants/Cross-Respondents felt aggrieved and, therefore, as petitioners, brought a petition, before the Court of Appeal, on the 20th day of May, 2003, challenging the declaration of the 1st and 2nd Respondents/Cross-Appellants as President and Vice-President respectively and joining the 4th and 5th Respondents/ Cross-Appellants, as well as the 3rd and 6th to 268th Respondents/Respondents as provided by section 133(2) of the Electoral Act, 2002.

In their petition, which was amended twice, the 1st and 2nd Appellants/Cross-Respondents, pleaded in paragraphs 4 and 5 thereof, as follows:-

“4. “And your petitioners state that the candidates and their scores as arbitrarily assigned to each candidate and declared by the National Returning Officer for the Presidential election are as follows:

The 1st Respondent who together with the 2nd Respondent were sponsored by the Peoples Demo-cratic Party was returned as elected.

“The petitioners shall contend that the figures ascribed to each of the candidates in the result above pleaded were the product of deliberate wrong entries made by the 3rd Respondent’s Agents or representatives at the wards, Local Government Areas and State collation centers. The declared result of the Presidential election held on the 19th April, 2003 is hereby pleaded.”

The relief’s sought in the last Amended Petition are:-

“(a) An order of the court, that the election is invalid for reasons of non-compliance with substantial sections of the Electoral Act 2002.

(b) An order of the court that the election is invalid for reason of corrupt practices.

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(c) An order of the court that at the time of the election the 1st Respondent was not qualified to contest.”

The trial of the petition, which lasted about 15 months, began before the Court of Appeal (Abdullahi, PCA, Mahmud Mohammed, J.C.A. (as he then was) Nsofor and Tabai, JJ.C.A.) on the 25th day of September, 2003, ended on the 20th day of December, 2004. The Court having heard the 139 witnesses called by the 1st and 2nd petitioners (1st and 2nd Appellants/Cross-Appellants), the 100 witnesses called by the 1st and 2nd respondents (1st and 2nd Respondents/Appellants) and the 116 witnesses called by the 3rd and 6th to 268th Respondents (3rd and 6th to 268th Respondents/ Cross-Respondents). Being altogether to 355 witnesses.

In the leading judgment of the Court of Appeal, delivered by Tabai, J.C.A., (with Nsofor J.C.A. dissenting,) the Court held as follows:-