The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday affirmed the judgment of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh poll.
The five-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensen in three separate judgments, dismissed the appeals filed by Wike, the PDP and INEC against the verdict of the Justice Suleiman Ambrusa-led tribunal delivered on October 24.
In the three unanimous judgments, the Appeal Court held that the tribunal was right to have held that the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate in the April 11, 2015 election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, had satisfactorily proved their petition that the poll was conducted in non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
In its judgment on the first appeal by Wike read by the presiding justice, Donghan-Messen, the Appeal Court resolved all the seven issues formulated in the appeal against the appellants.
It held that the non-usage of the smart card reader and disregard by officials of INEC in Rivers State for the commission’s directive on the mandatory use of the machine was a direct violation of the Electoral Act.
Justice Dongban-Messen condemned the deliberate act by officials of INEC in Rivers State to disobey the “lawful instruction” of the commission on the mandatory use of the card reader. She said:
“It will be tantamount to setting a bad precedent to overlook the deliberate and brazen breach of INEC’s directive by its staff election officials in Rivers State.
“It portends a grave danger to the electoral process for INEC officials to have the temerity and the audacity to flout and waive lawful instruction given to electoral officials to enable them to conduct a free, fair election.
“The future of the electoral process will be laden with suspicion and deceit if INEC officials are allowed to conduct election at their own whims and caprices and not in accordance with the dictates of the Electoral Act, Manual for Election Officials and Approved Guidelines and Regulations which issued by INEC.”
The appellate court also held that contrary to the contention by Wike and the PDP, the Manual for Election Officials and the Approved Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2015 General Elections and the guidelines issued by INEC were within its powers donated to it under section 153 of the Electoral Act.
It held that the oral evidence of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners at the tribunal supported the documentary evidence on the card reader report and result sheets which showed that the 1,228,614 votes recorded for the April 11 poll far exceeded the 293,072 voters accredited through the use of the card reader.
She held that the manual and the approved guidelines also did not conflict with the provisions of sections 49(1) and 52((1)(b) of the Electoral Act as contented by the INEC.
“I do not see any conflict between the two sections of the law and the Manual for Election Officials and the Approved Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2015 General Elections. They actually complement each other to enable INEC to conduct a free and credible election,” the court ruled.
Justice Dongban-Messen held that contrary to the contention of the appellants, the introduction of the card reader was not ultra vires (outside) the powers of INEC and was not tantamount to electronic voting which is prohibited under section 52(1) of the Electoral Act.
“There is no electronic voting in the use of card reader. What INEC introduced was to enhance the credibility and enhance the conduct of the election so as to guarantee free and credible election,” the court held.
Among other issues resolved against the appellants was that both Peterside and the APC had locus standi to challenge the outcome of the April 11 poll, having issued a valid notice to INEC for the conduct of the party’s primary from which Peterside emerged as the governorship candidate and also participated in the April 11 election.
Justice Dongban-Messen said Wike was “weeping more than the bereaved” when he complained that the APC did not issue a notice less than 21 days as prescribed by the Electoral Act ahead of the conduct of the party’s primary, when the commission itself did not complain that the notice was too short.
Meanwhile, Wike has rejected the judgement and directed his lawyers to take the matter to the Supreme Court. He said in a statement signed his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, that he disagreed with the Appeal Court judgment; hence, his decision to exhaust his constitutional right by challenging the judgment at the apex court.
The governor called on all his supporters and the people of Rivers State to remain calm and expressed the belief that justice would be done at the end.