Citing personal reasons, the President of the Court of Appeal and chairperson of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa announced Wednesday that she has withdrawn from presiding over the panel, sitting in Abuja.
The PDP and its candidate in the last presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had in the last sitting asked Justice Bulkachuwa to withdraw from the five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on grounds that she would likely be biased in the handling of the tribunal’s proceedings.
Though in a unanimous decision Wednesday, the tribunal in a ruling read by Justice Oladele Ige turned down the application of the petitioners, Justice Bulkachuwa said on personal grounds she would cease to preside over the case.
Reacting to her recusal, Counsel to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Wole Olanipekun, who maintained that there was no doubt that tribunal would have been fair, described the judgment as “victory for the judiciary,” adding that “I commend your Lordship’s sagacity.”
President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has withdrawn from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The opposition People’s Democratic party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, asked Justice Bulkachuwa to recuse herself from the tribunal on the grounds that she is married to a senator-elect of the All Progressives Congress.
Levi Ozuokwu, counsel to Abubakar, asked the Chairman of the tribunal to recuse herself over the likelihood of bias.
After a prolonged sitting, the panel ruled against the application of the PDP for Justice Bulkachuwa’s recusal.
Justice Peter Ige, a member of the panel who delivered the lead ruling on the application, said the fact that she is married to a Senator-elect of the APC is not enough to state she will be biased during the petition.
Despite the ruling Justice Bulkachuwa proceeded to recuse herself for personal reasons.
She said that she was glad the ruling was based on facts and the law, meaning another female judge will not go through the same ordeal.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which on Wednesday continued hearing into the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the last presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, against the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari has adjourned for 30 minutes.
The legal team of the PDP and its presidential candidate led by Dr. Levy Uzoukwu (SAN) told the Court that the team required 20 minutes to peruse a counter-affidavit by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The petitioners had in the last sitting asked the president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to withdraw from the five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on grounds that she would likely be biased in the handling of the tribunal’s proceedings
Noting that he and his colleagues were in court to argue their motion filed on May 16, Uzoukwu said: “Surprisingly, 13 minutes ago, the third respondent served us with a counter-affidavit running up to 250 pages. That looked like an ambush to me.
“About 50 minutes earlier, we rreceived that of the second respondent but in that case, we had time to read. My appeal is to ask for just 20 minutes to go through what has been served us, to be able to respond.”
In her ruling, Justice Bulkachuwa adjourned proceeding for 30 minutes to allow the counsel read the document.
