Why we okayed Wike’s election — Supreme Court

The Supreme Court said  yesterday  that non-compliance with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s)  manual and guidelines by  officials of the commission  in the conduct of the April 11,2015 governorship election in Rivers State  was not a sufficient ground to void the election.

Giving reasons for upholding the declaration  of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) as the winner of the election,the apex court also said  that the petitioners at the tribunal-Mr. Dakuku Peterside of the  All Progressives Congress (APC) and his party – failed to prove their allegations of malpractices and non-compliance as required.

The court’s seven-man panel  led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said  that the tribunal and Court of Appeal, which had earlier  voided the election, were wrong to  base their decisions on the petitioners’ allegations  that the INEC officials  failed  to adhere to the 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 and that the non-compliance with the 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  the APC failed to discharge the burden of proof  placed on them having alleged misconduct including violence, disenfranchisement and non-compliance.

The court was of the view 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  the PDP when he was not the chairman  at the time  the application was argued.