THE presidential election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja has fixed next Tuesday for judgment in the petitions filed by General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, challenging the election of President Umaru Yar�Adua.
Buhari, candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the April 21, 2007 presidential election, while reacting to the announcement of judgment date, said all he wanted on the day was justice.
Speaking through his counsel, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), he said that all he was after was justice and �if that is done, we are likely to benefit and I�m also praying to God that victory will be mine.�
The tribunal had on 5th February reserved judgment in the petitions which had been consolidated after parties had adopted their final addresses.
No date was given at the last sitting with the tribunal chairman, Justice James Ogebe, saying that the judgment date would be communicated to parties.
Around noon on Thursday, letters notifying counsel for parties of the judgment date were being circulated by some administrative staff of the Court of Appeal serving as the tribunal.
On Wednesday, it became public knowledge that President Yar�Adua had forwarded the name of Justice Ogebe to the Senate for confirmation as a justice of the Supreme Court, a move which the opposition interpreted as subtle bribery.
The petitioners are asking the tribunal to void the presidential election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said was won by Yar�Adua, who contested on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and order a fresh poll.
Both are accusing INEC of non-compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act 2006 and the 1999 Constitution in the conduct of the said election.
Atiku, candidate of the Action Congress (AC), is claiming that he was unlawfully excluded from the election by the electoral body contrary to the pronouncement of the Supreme Court that the body had no constitutional power to bar candidates duly nominated for election by their political parties.
He also argued that INEC failed to comply with the provisions of the extant laws in the conduct of the election, adding that Yar�Adua could not have won an election that did not take place.
Atiku also provided documents that he said showed that ballots papers used for the election by INEC suggested fraud.
In his argument against the petition filed by Buhari, counsel for INEC, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN), told the court that the petition of Buhari could not stand because his party, the ANPP, and his running-mate, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, had withdrawn from the petition.