Thread by @toluogunlesi

A few random thoughts on the PDP presidential election petition:

All of the planks on which they’ve based their petition have turned out to be k-legged. All.

Start with the server claims. Easily the biggest joke of 2019. 110% fabricated claims. Star witnesses had zero proof when questioned. ‘Expert’ witnesses (incl one from Kenya) were similarly clueless. Best they had was a 3rd party ANON site. Sad joke.

Another big k-leg - they were able to summon only about 60 witnesses - you can’t prove a governorship case with 60 witnesses, not to talk of presidential (Google to see what Governorship petition witness numbers look like).

Another k-leg: a document dump. They dumped thousands of documents on Court,without linking these documents to actual claims in petition. (You can’t do this linking without witnesses)

Here’s what Court had to say about a recent case of dumping by another party,in 2019 PEPT cycle

Anothe plank of the petition - trying to cast doubt on the President’s school leaving certificate. Dead on arrival, with the verifications from WAEC and Cambridge.

This is from a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal:

“The burden of proving an election petition rests squarely on the petitioner who must succeed on the strength of his own case as the burden of proof lies on the person who would fail if no evidence at all was given...”

In a nutshell: ‘He who alleges must prove.’

Unfortunately our friends have put together one of the most hare-brained (I’m not even being uncharitable) petitions in the history of PEPTs in Nigeria.