SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSES OUTCOME OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001181

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KCOR NI ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSES OUTCOME OF
2003 ELECTION, DENIES THAT ELECTION WAS FLAWED

REF: ABUJA 1172

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Summary
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1. (SBU) On the morning of July 1, the Supreme Court
unanimously and strongly rejected the challenge to the
2003 election filed by All Nigerian People's Party
(ANPP) presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari. The
Court found that the election was in "substantial
compliance" with the election law, and even rejected
findings of a lower court that voided one state's
results. In a press conference shortly afterwards,
Buhari urged unity among opposition groups and called
for calm, but said that Nigeria would not have a fair
election in the near future. He promised to regroup
for 2007, but his party may not want to wait that long.

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The Supreme Court Issues Its Ruling
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2. (SBU) On the morning of July 1, the Supreme Court
ruled unanimously to reject the challenge to the 2003
election filed by ANPP presidential candidate Muhammadu
Buhari, ending a court case that had been ongoing for
over two years. A presidential election tribunal had
ruled in a majority decision in February that although
the election was significantly flawed, the flaws were
not enough to overturn the election (although the
result in President Obasanjo's home state of Ogun was
nullified). The Supreme Court, however, did not
acknowledge the flaws identified by the lower court,
and even overturned the Ogun State verdict, reinstating
Obasanjo's victory in that state. (Note: The Ogun
State result had been vacated because the number of
votes for Obasanjo had exceeded the total number of
voters in the state. End Note.)


3. (SBU) According to Professor Y. O Aliu, one of the
few people allowed at the court (Poloffs were denied
access),ANPP lead counsel Mike Ahamba came late
because the security men did grant him quick access to
the venue. He alleged most of the people at the
gallery of the Supreme Court were PDP members, while
hundreds of ANPP supporters were stranded at different
locations outside the court. Poloffs noted a heavy
police presence on the street, with police helicopters
flying overhead and crowds of ANPP supporters prevented
from entering the Supreme Court grounds.


4. (U) Chief Justice Uwais read the lead judgment.
The seven justices were unanimous in their decision but
only five justices were present at the court. The
Court convened at 9:00 a.m. and completed its sitting
within an hour. Justice Uwais addressed the eight
points of Buhari's petition that alleged specific acts
on non-compliance with the Electoral Act, but concluded
that the 2003 presidential elections were conducted
with "substantial compliance" with the Act. The Court
was critical of the minority position of the lower
tribunal, calling the judge who wrote a minority
opinion "too emotional." The Supreme Court therefore
upheld the 2003 elections and threw out Buhari's
petition.


5. (SBU) Outside the court, observers told Poloffs
that they were not surprised at the judgment because
"the judiciary is under the firm control of the
executive arm." One university professor said the
verdict proves that "Nigeria is a corrupt nation."
Some suggested that the verdict was delivered under
pressure on the Chief Justice from Obasanjo. All
observers, however, were stunned by the unanimity of
the Supreme Court's decision: everyone had seen
election irregularities firsthand, and the 18-month-
long election tribunal had presented mountains of
evidence of election problems.

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Buhari's Reaction
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6. (SBU) Shortly after the verdict, Poloffs attended
a Buhari press conference at ANPP headquarters.
Poloffs noted no unusual police presence outside the
ANPP building, and Abuja was calm. (Note: Consulate
Lagos reported no unusual activity in the streets, nor
did Embassy contacts in the major cities of the North
have any reports of demonstrations or violence.)
Inside the building, the conference room was packed,
with ANPP supporters, VIPs, and media in attendance.
Kano State Governor Shekarau shared the podium with
Buhari, and Poloffs spotted at least five members of
the National Assembly, all from the ANPP, in the
audience. The atmosphere inside the room was electric,
with onlookers expressing a mixture of anger at the
verdict and excitement at what Buhari would announce.


7. (SBU) Buhari's initial comment on the verdict was
diplomatic: "Based on the belief in the supremacy of
rule of law...on our part, we accept the decision of
the court although we did not agree with it." But he
went on to say that the decision did not "conform with
facts and common sense. It is a political decision,
not a legal decision, and Nigerians would regard it as
such." He appealed for calm among his supporters, but
promised to "keep fighting" until the 2007 election.

8. (SBU) He said that if the ANPP does not learn from
the lessons of the 2003 national election and the 2004
local government elections, both marred with serious
electoral fraud, "We have only ourselves to blame,"
ominously warning that, "Nigerians must awake and fight
against this brigandage in the future." He said that
the Supreme Court's verdict "legitimized" and
"sanctioned" the 2003 election irregularities, and he
declared, "It is clear that no normal election will be
held in Nigeria in the near future."


9. (SBU) Buhari also called for unity, but unity
among opposition groups. He said he was committed to
staying in politics, a line greeted with much applause,
and was motivated by the problems of Nigeria, most of
all "the bad governance of the past six years" (the
Obasanjo regime). He listed some of Nigeria's many
problems, and pointed to a failure of leadership as the
reason for the problems, then said, "We are ready to
provide that leadership."

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Will Conditions Remain Calm?
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10. (SBU) After the press conference, Poloffs spoke
with several ANPP officers, who said that they would
heed Buhari's call for calm "for now," but that the
party leadership would have to meet next week "to do
serious planning." One party official suggested to
Poloff that it was "not likely" the ANPP would "sit and
wait for 2007," but he stopped short of suggesting any
possibilities for action.

CAMPBELL