The Defence Headquarters on Wednesday warned anyone contemplating to protest the affirmation of President Umaru Yar�Adua�s election by the Presidential Election Tribunal to have a rethink.
It said the warning was necessitated by information that there were plots by some people to breach the peace in the country because of the Tuesday verdict by the tribunal.
The DHQ said in a statement by the Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yusuf, that the military would do anything to defend the rule of law in the country.
The statement which was signed by Yusuf for the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Owoye Azazi, said the disruption of the public peace would not be the best way to react to Tuesday�s judgment by the tribunal.
The statement reads, �The attention of the DHQ has been drawn to plans from some quarters to cause disruption following the Court of Appeal judgement on the presidential election petitions.
�That is not the right way to go and certainly does not represent the people�s quest for national security.
�The CDS, Gen. Azazi, wants to seize this opportunity to assure Nigerians that the military is solidly behind the President.
�We have seen the rule of law in action and we will do our best to ensure the maintenance of public peace as enshrined in our nation�s constitution.�
The statement urged all Nigerians to shun violence and join hands with the President to move the country forward.
Meanwhile, mixed reactions have continued to trail the verdict which the two petitioners, Maj-Gen, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress, vowed to challenge at the Supreme Court.
Among those who spoke in favour of the verdict were five state governors � Chief Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa); Mr. Sullivan Chime (Enugu); Mr. Olusegun Oni (Ekiti); Dr. Babangida Aliyu (Niger); and Dr. Olusegun Agagu (Ondo).
Those that faulted the Justice James Ogebe-led five-member tribunal on Wednesday were Transition Monitoring Group and the United Kingdom chapter of the AC.
In his comment, Oni said that the judgment showed that Nigeria had a focused judiciary.
The governor, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Mr. Moses Ayo-Jolayemi, said, �It is obvious from the verdict of today that we have a judiciary that is focused and responsible, not given to hearsay, concoctions and empty propaganda.
�It is a clear indication that we have a judiciary that cannot be railroaded into spontaneity on account of misinformation and falsification of truth.
�It is also symptomatic of the absurdity and futility of sinking millions of money into media sponsorship of half-truths as we all saw that the tribunal verdict was established on cold facts, not hot sentiments and sensationalism.�
In Akure, Agagu described the verdict as an indication that democracy was growing in the country.
His Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yemi Olowolabi, who spoke for the governor said the judiciary had again shown that it was independent.
He said, �It was indeed a landmark judgment painstakingly delivered. This has further reinforced the fact that President Umaru Yar�Adua is the popular choice of the Nigerian people and that the Peoples Democratic Party is the party of the moment.�
On his part, Sylva said the judgment was a victory for the Ijaw.
Speaking through his Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Nathan Egba, the governor said since an Ijaw and indeed a Niger Delta man was occupying the position of the vice- president for the first time in the history of Nigeria, it was a thing of joy that Yar�Adua and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan emerged victorious.
Chime, while congratulating Yar�Adua and Jonathan, said the judgment had shown the judiciary as the bastion of democracy in the country.
Chime, whose is election had been annulled by the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal, added that the Tuesday verdict in Abuja was a confirmation of the mandate given to Yar�Adua by Nigerians.
He advised all Nigerians and the petitioners in particular to join hands with the President to realise his vision of Nigeria as one of the most developed economies by 2020.
Also commenting, Aliyu who is also the Chairman, Northern Governors� Forum, said he was excited by the verdict.
Aliyu said, �In democracy, people are bound to ask questions when they are not comfortable with political happenings around them. It is also right for the people to ensure that answers to such questions, when proffered, are respected by all.
�The judgment will go a long way in silencing enemies of the country who had wanted to capitalise on it to set the country backward.�
But the TMG, in its reaction, said the judgment was decided based on wrong interpretations.
The group�s Chairman, Mr. Moshood Erubami, said, �All the evidence that were brought before the tribunal, there is no doubt in the fact that there were riggings, malpractices, violence and alterations of vote counts.
�President Yar�Adua acknowledged the fact that the election that brought him into power was marred with fraud. And all the humiliation we have been hearing from other justices of the election tribunals showed that the foundation of that election was very weak.�
The United Kingdom chapter of the AC said that the verdict of the international and local observers had discredited the April 2007 general elections.
The Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the AC in the UK, Mr. Remi Idowu, said, �In view of the fact that the so � called election was totally flawed by both local and international observers, justice has not been done and the nation deserves justice.�
Meanwhile, the European Union has debunked claims that it applauded the judgment by the tribunal.
A statement by its Head of Section, Politics, Economics,Trade, Information and Communication, Tom Millar, noted that media reports on the comments made by EU�s Head of Delegation to Nigeria, Robert van der Meulen, were misleading.
The stated reads in part, �Many have wrongly reported that the EU has applauded the verdict of the Court regarding the presidential election.
�The EU would like to clarify that it has made no statement, official or otherwise, regarding the Court of Appeal verdict.
�On the morning of February 26, Mr. van der Meulen had made some general complimentary remarks regarding the independence of the judiciary and its important role in the democratic process in Nigeria during a ceremony to mark the donation of digital court recording equipment to the Nigerian Judiciary Institute.
�He specifically underlined to the audience that these were general remarks, made before the verdict of the Court of Appeal
�He could thus not have been commenting on a judgment which had not yet been delivered.�
Victor Sam, Bisi Olaniyi, Femi Makinde, Francis Falola, Olamilekan Lartey and Mudiaga Affe, and Oluwole Josiah.