Presidential election: CPC head to S'Court

Following the judgment of the presidential election petition tribunal which affirmed the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the April 16 presidential election, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has headed for the Supreme Court, praying it to set aside the judgment of the tribunal.In a notice of appeal filed at the registry of the Court of Appeal, the CPC said it was dissatisfied with the decision of the tribunal headed by Justice K.B Akaahs, which affirmed Jonathan as the winner of the April 16 presidential poll, in the face of mounting evidence it adduced to prove the contrary.Accordingly, the party was challenging the November 1 judgment of the five-man tribunal on 25 grounds.CPC submitted that the learned justices of the trial Court of Appeal erred in law when they lumped together the evidence of witnesses of the respondents, who they acknowledged were different sets of respondents and thereby occasioned miscarriage of justice.It added that the learned justices of the trial court of appeal improperly evaluated the evidence before them, when they evaluated the evidence of the respondents jointly, even when the cases presented by the respondents, in response to the appellant's petition, were distinct and separate, thereby occasioning miscarriage of justice.It further stated that the learned justices of the trial court of Appeal misdirected themselves when they held with respect to this case as follows, 'however the mere assertion by the petitioner that the elections were flawed or calling hearsay evidence will not shift the burden of disproving the assertions on the respondent.'The appelant also stated that the learned justices of the trial court of appeal erred in law when they held that the onus lied on the Appellant to prove non-compliance.
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