12092019

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews
Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
the basic educational
qualification to contest the
presidential election.
AT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PETITIONS TRIBUNAL —From left:
Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Festus Keyamo (SAN); Chief of
Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), at the 2019 Presidential
Election Petitions Tribunal’s judgement in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.
Buhari floors Atiku at tribunal
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri, Omeiza
Ajayi & Dirisu
Yakubu
ABUJA — The
Presidential
Election Petition
Tribunal sitting in Abuja
yesterday validated
President Muhammadu
Buhari’s re-election.
In a unanimous
judgement, a five-man
panel of Justices of the
Court of Appeal, dismissed
the joint petition the
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, and its candidate,
Atiku Abubakar, lodged to
challenge the outcome of
the February 23
presidential election that
was declared in Buhari’s
favour.
Reacting, President
Buhari said he wasn’t
perturbed by the case at the
tribunal all along, saying
“Good conscience fears no
evil report,” in a statement
issued by his Special
Adviser on Media &
Publicity, Chief Femi
Adesina.
But the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in a
swift reaction, rejected the
judgement of the tribunal,
describing it as provocative,
barefaced subversion of
justice and direct assault on
the integrity of the nation’s
justice system.
The ruling All
Progressives Congress,
APC, on its part, hailed the
judgement, describing the
petition by the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, and
its presidential candidate,
Atiku Abubakar, as a
complete waste of time.
However, the tribunal
determined all the five
issues the petitioners raised
in the petition, against
them, stressing that
allegation that the election
was rigged for President
Buhari and the ruling All
Progressives Congress,
APC, was not proved
beyond reasonable doubt.
It held that the petitioners
did not adduce sufficient
evidence to warrant
granting of any of the reliefs
they sought in the petition,
adding that they did not
discharge the burden of
proof placed on them by the
law.
In determining all the
issues raised in the petition,
the tribunal, in the lead
judgement delivered by its
Chairman, Justice
Mohammed Garba, held
that President Buhari was
eminently qualified to vie
for presidency. It held that
PDP and Atiku were unable
to prove that Buhari lacked
Where Atiku, PDP’s
petition failed, by tribunal
In the judgement that
lasted over nine hours, the
tribunal held that the
Buhari’s curriculum vitae
that was tendered by the
petitioners, “contained
impressive credentials” that
qualified him to contest
the presidential election
“even if he tendered
primary school certificate.”
The tribunal maintained
that evidence of the
petitioners proved that
Buhari was not only
“highly qualified, but
eminently qualified” to
contest the election.
The panel held that the
fact that Buhari did not
attach his certificates to the
Form CF001 he tendered
before the INEC, was not a
ground to draw a
conclusion that he does not
have the certificates.
It said there was no
evidence that Buhari was
not qualified in line with
provisions of Sections 131,
137 and 138 of the
Constitution, adding that
the petitioners failed to
prove that West African
School Certificate was not
in existence as at 1961
when the 2nd Respondent
(Buhari) joined the Army.
Besides, the tribunal held
that the statement by former
spokesman of the Nigerian
Army, Brigadier General
Olajide Olaniyi, which the
petitioners relied on to insist
that Buhari lacked basic
educational qualifications,
was misconstrued.
It equally held that
though the petitioners
claimed that Brig. Gen.
Olaniyi had in the said
statement, denied that
Buhari’s certificate was with
the Army, he was however
not called to testify as a
witness.
The tribunal noted that
Brig. Gen. Olaniyi had in
the said statement, merely
asserted that the Army was
not with Buhari’s original
certificates, admitting
however that he had six
credits in English
Language, Geography,
Hausa, Health Science
and Literature.
The tribunal wondered
how Brig. Gen. Olaniyi
knew about the subjects
Buhari passed in his 1961
WASC, if there was no
credential in his Army file
(Form 119a).
“The only reasonable
inference is that the 2nd
Respondent presented his
WASC to Army,” Justice
Garba held, saying “it will
be incredible to hold in the
face of Exhibit P-24, that the
2nd Respondent does not
possess qualification to
contest for the office of
President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria as
stipulated in section 131 of
the Constitution”.
It held that since the
petitioners failed to produce
Brig. Gen. Olaniyi as a
witness, the statement he
issued with respect to
Buhari’s certificate which
was admitted in evidence
therefore lacked probative
value and is deemed to
have been dumped on the
tribunal.
More so, the tribunal
held that whereas Section
137 (1) stipulated
conditions under which a
person could be
disqualified, Section 318(1)
defined what School
Certificate or its equivalent
means as provided in
Section 131.
It listed credentials that
can qualify a presidential
candidate to include the
Grade 2 Teachers
Certificate, education up to
secondary school, Primary
6 Certificate or its
equivalent, service in a
public sector acceptable to
INEC for a minimum of 10
years, as well as the ability
to read and write in
English language.
The tribunal said there
was evidence before it that
Buhari finished both his
primary and secondary
education in 1956 and 1961
respectively, before he
joined the Army.
It said there was also
evidence that Buhari
attended military training
from 1961 to 1963, saying
“it was established beyond
Continues on Page 41
By Bose Adelaja, Olayinka Latona
& Chiamaka Uba
Should NCC regulate internet use in Nigeria? (3)
The answer is YES
and one of the
ways of doing this is
by giving constant
enlightenment to
internet users so that
they won’t fall victim
of internet fraud.
Another way is
making the Internet
Industry Code of
Practice for Internet
Service very effective
in the country.
— Gbadegesin
Samuel
Blogger/Analyst
CAPITAL no. It
can’t be possible.
It is not like that in the
advance country so why
do they want it otherwise
in Nigeria. Beside,
I believe the Nigerian
government will
take advantage of it. It
will rob citizens of the
right to freedom of
speech. If it is allowed,
they will regulate our
opinion and comment
on the Internet.
— Olumide Ibironke
Crane Operator
I
think it’s a welcome
development because
the rate of cyber crimes is
very high; it is now the
order of the day. By
regulating the use of
internet, such crime would
be eradicated. Nigeria
would be free from fraud
and unethical use of the
internet. If this is not
curbed, the country will
have a negative image.
That’s not a way of
moving the country
forward.
— Okoli Ifeanyi
Student
It's very urgent and
important to our very
survival as a nation because
without regulating the use
of the internet, the nation
will not grow
technologically. Many
information today as we
know, are sourced from the
internet.
For me, the NCC which
is in charge of the sector
should go ahead with the
regulations since there is
economic benefits to be
derived from it.
— Cletus Goki
Fsars
IT is an intrapersonal
way of using it which
should not be controlled
by the NCC. So if there’s
a regulation on how it is
supposed to be used, I
feel my right is being infringed.
There is an extent
to how we use the
Internet, so why should
it be regulated by the
NCC. I disagree completely.
— Akinwumi Solomon
Clearing Agent
THEIR responsibilities
include regulating
telecommunication services
& facilities, promoting
competition & setting
performance standards in
Nigeria. They’re actively
promoting increased access
to the internet and this is
expected to heighten
internet access. So this
should be done in order to
secure the country’s cyber
space against threats and
address issues such as online
protection, privacy and data
protection
—Nwachukwu Patience
Kelechi
Student