The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has urged the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to summon the necessary courage to do substantial justice to his petition seeking the nullification of Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Atiku, in his final written address by his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, said that contrary to the threat of Tinubu, heavens would not fall when he is sacked by the tribunal as president on the account of massive electoral fraud that brought him into office.
The former Vice president dismissed Tinubu’s threat as an empty one deployed to scare the tribunal from upholding justice in the petition challenging Tinubu’s election.
He also recalled the courageous position of the Supreme Court in the case of Rotimi Amaechi, where the apex court held that heavens would not fall when justice is done in the manner prescribed by law.
Justice George Adesola Oguntade, who delivered the Supreme Court judgment in the cited authority, had said: “I must do justice even if the heavens fall. The truth, of course, is that when justice has been done, the heavens stay in one place and in peace.”
Atiku asked the tribunal to invoke the courage displayed in the past Supreme Court judgment to settle his petition against Tinubu by disregarding the threat of monumental chaos issued by Tinubu to shield himself from justice.
The PDP flagbearer maintained that Tinubu had lost the moral and legal rights to be in office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having admitted a punitive forfeiture of $406,000 in a narcotics and money laundering-related matter.
Besides, Atiku accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating the results of the presidential election in the most corrupt manner in favour of Tinubu and thereafter, unlawfully proclaimed him (Tinubu) the winner of the election.
Citing the alleged brazen subversion of the popular will of the voters by INEC in favour of Tinubu, the former Vice President appealed that the proclamation of the electoral body is voided and set aside and in its place, declare him the winner of the election having convincingly scored the majority of the lawful votes.