Meanwhile, Obi has urged the five-member panel of the election petition court not to subvert the will of the people as expressed in the February 25 presidential election.Obi, in his final written address in support of his petition, challenging the declaration of Senator Bola Tinubu as winner of the presidential poll, urged the panel to sack the president.
He reminded the panel that its powers of adjudication as provided in the Nigerian Constitution was freely donated to them by the people, hence the need to uphold the confidence reposed in them by the people.
Reacting, Obi and LP, in their final written address filed on their behalf by their lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), submitted that, Tinubu and Shettima’s defence was “devoid of any scintilla of merit”.
They urged the tribunal to hold that the petitioners’ case is meritorious and grant them their reliefs, which include the nullification of Tinubu’s election and declare them winner or in the alternative, order the conduct of a fresh election.
They also argued that refusal of the panel to sack Tinubu over alleged breach of the Constitution is tantamount to dereliction of duty, adding that the judges should emulate the Supreme Court of Kenya, which in the interest of the people and democracy, nullified the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta on account of established corrupt practices.
“In conclusion, may we respectfully commend to your lordships the words on the marble of the Supreme Court in the case of Raila Odinga and Anor V Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and Others (2017) KESC 31 (KLR) para, 399; when in nullifying the election that returned H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta as the winner of the Kenyan presidential election in 2017, ex-cathedra said; ‘13991 what of the argument that this court should not subvert the will of the people? This court is one of those to whom that sovereign power has been delegated under article 1(3)c) of the same constitution.
All its powers, including that of invalidating a presidential election is not self-given nor forcefully taken, but is donated by the people of Kenya.
To dishonestly exercise that delegated power and to close our eyes to constitutional violations would be a dereliction of duty and we refuse to accept the invitation to do so, however popular the invitation may seem.
“Therefore, however burdensome, let the majesty of the constitution reverberate across the lengths and breadths of our hills and mountains; let it serenade our households from the trees; let it sprout from our institutions learning; let it toll from our sanctums of prayer; and to those who bear the responsibility of leadership, let it be a constant irritant,’” Obi and LP told the panel.