BNW

B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News

2003 Election: Tribunal now to sit on Saturdays By Kemi Ogedengbe The presidential election petition tribunal hearing the suit filed by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), candidate General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), against the 2003 election of President Olusegun Obasanjo, will henceforth seat six days in a week including Saturdays henceforth. President of the Court of Appeal who also presides over the petition, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, said yesterday that the decision was informed by the need to cover enough ground and determine the appeal in good time. Speaking at the resumed hearing of the case after the court’s yearly vacation, he said that hearing of the case would also accelerate the proceedings of the court. Justice Abdullahi who welcomed back all the counsels in the matter, told them to assist the court in the speedy hearing of the suit which would be one year on September 24, 2004. At yesterday’s proceedings, former World Court Judge, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN) and serving special adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo on legal matters, Chief Ojo Madueke, attended the court session, but they did not stay long in court. Before the vacation, the petitioner had called 139 witnesses while President Obasanjo also brought 100 witnesses who testified before the court. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had called 27 witnesses as at yesterday while INEC still listed about 170 witnesses to be called for evidence. INEC called two witnesses from Akwa Ibom yesterday who testified that elections took place at various wards in the state and that the result declared by INEC justified the large turn out. General Buhari had petitioned the tribunal claiming that the election was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with mandatory stat-utory requirements and with irregularities, that INEC arbitrarily assigned scores to each of the 20 candidates that vied for the election and that President Obasanjo was not qualified to contest the election in the first instance.     TO NEXT NEWS PAGE...

	BNW News
Voice of Biafra | Biafra World | Biafra Online | Biafra Web | MASSOB | Biafra Forum | BLM | Biafra Consortium
	© 2001 BNW BiafraNigeriaWorld  Privacy Policy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Powered by ACENetwork ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Axiom PSI Yam Festival Series, Iri Ji Nd'Igbo the Kola-Nut Series,Nigeria Masterweb