BREAKING NEWS: Atiku defeats Obasanjo at the Appeal Court

The Federal Appeal Court sitting in Abuja  today rules that President Obasanjo doesn't have any right to sack his Vice ,Atiku Abubakar. The entire court area in Abuja went wild in jubilation over the ruling.

The Appeal Judges in their ruling insisted that the allegiance of the Vice President should be to the constitution not to the President.

Meanwhile, Vice President Atiku and AC  presidential flagbearer has picked his Vice Presidential candidate. He is Senator Ben Obi from Anambra State.

PS: Atiku left 9ja for Uk because he was scheduled to have an interview with BBC London. HE NEVER RAN AWAY!
More details soon,

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Visit: http://atiku2007.tk

Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that there was no iota of truth in a newspaper report on Monday which suggested that he had fled the country to avoid being arrested by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Atiku, the Action Congress (AC) flag bearer, who spoke through his Presidential Campaign organisation last night said the claim of the Abuja based newspaper that he had fled the country as a result of the pending Court of Appeal ruling was cooked up to embarrass him.

He said he left Abuja for London on Sunday on the invitation of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to give a lecture on "The Challenges for Nigeria after the April Presidential Elections", saying the lecture would hold at the Chatam House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.

The Vice-President said he would also meet with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman, and other parliamentarians and return to the country later in the week.

He added that he had no reason to flee the country.

"The trip was scheduled weeks ago, long before the Court of Appeal fixed date for its ruling. It is therefore irresponsible and mischievous to insinuate that I had fled the country fearing an unfavourable ruling", says Abubakar.

The Vice-President said he has absolute confidence in the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary and believes that the court will vindicate him by clearing all legal hurdles before him.


http://www.independentngonline.com/news/44/ARTICLE/21274/2007-02-20.html

iNFACT, THIS IS A VICTORY FOR THE RULE OF LAW IN THIS COUNTRY. ABOVE ALL, GOOD NEWS and SHAME to the enemies of DEMOCRAZY.

The court verdict does not exonerate him from his indictment.

He still remains disqualified to contest election.

Yup. The court verdict has only prolonged his arrest until after April.

Atiku has won at the courts again this is good. it goes to show that Obasanjo cant eat his cake and have it . it futher goes to show that tyrany has little place to dwell in nigeria. am not for atiku but what is happening is good for the nation cos Obasanjo being a theif and a fraudster has no right to fight people for fraud and stealing. all i want is for them to finish their tenure and both rot in jail together they came in together and they will go to jail together no more no less

Yes, the court verdict only sustains his immunity from prosecution. People must understand that the court verdict was mainly to clarify if President has the right to sack the VP. The case was in court prior to the indictment and disqualification.

The indictment is a completely different issue at hand.

Atiku remains indicted and legally disqualified from contesting the election.

To exonerate himself from the indictment, he may seek redress from the court and unfortunately that may take days, months or years and the elections cannot wait.

Today Feb 20 is the last day for all parties to replace indicted candidates and it is unlikely for Atiku to clear his name in the court.

He is a dubious man that uses the constitution and laws indiscriminately to buttress and hide his crimes and time will tell.

@shutmouth
i remember reading some of your post about today being the D day for atiku to step down now you are disappionted. he is not going to contest elections i hope so but lets wait and see, the people up there are not happy with your Obasanjo so they will do what ever they can to see to it that he doesnt have his way too. what goes around comes around they say.

I will shoot myself in the head if Atiku ever makes it through INEC tonight. Wait for the breaking news 12 noon.

Atiku is a criminal who knows the flaws in the court and takes advantage of it. Remember, the EFCC has not yet started investigating our Judges and the court.

This is not the appropriate time to investigate the Judges and the courts as it will be regarded internationally as an attempt by the FG to interfere in the Judiciary.

Ribadu will take on the Judges at the appropriate time after the elections. You know the Judges in Nigeria are the worst offenders when it comes to bribery and impartiality.

Anyway, we will keep you posted on the INEC deadline tonight.

Why should he be allowed to stay as a VP if hes with another party

How can he do his job?

LadyT:

Why should he be allowed to stay as a VP if hes with another party

How can he do his job?

Thats' not a problem because he has no Job to do apart from his Campaign and anti-government speeches.

doshbass:

Thats' not a problem because he has no Job to do apart from his Campaign and anti-government speeches.

This is madness. Hes so greedy he just wants to continue to enjoy the perks of being a VP the free accomadation the free transport. How will he hold meetings with the pdp party when he has now joined a rival party?

Why is this happening?

When will Nigeria see sense.

Curruption in our judicial system is akin to that in institutions like PHCN and the Police force.  This is a game Atiku plays very well and one OBJ is not a natural at.

All this noise means nothing, as long as Atiku has no part to play in the future of our country. That's all I pray for.

Only he still thinks he has a chance of winning as presido of nigeria. The only thing he will win is a prison sentence in Jesus name!

Sorry for our Justice System. People are now able to rape the constitution just to exhibit anti-obasanjo tendencies. Lets see who will laugh last.

I hope OBJ follows him to prison. They both deserved to retire to a safe prison. I would'nt let this duo on the streets after April. They will be lynched.

Atiku biggest victory will come at the poll, he may not win,but he will have exercised his right as a citizen to vote and be voted for. the electorate citizen should still have the last word on who governs them. Soldier on MR V.P

This is a dangerous precedence, and I must add that our parliament must quickly amend the constitution. The danger inherent in this is that, as soon as another government is installed, so long as the VP have the support of the house, he can change party and continue to remain in the opposition, simply because his allegiance is not to the President but the constitution. What a flaw in our constitution! Anyway, I want to believe that the supreme court will right this error of judgment.

It is now obvious that court cases are determined by the highest bidder, it looks as if Atiku pays more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coming to the ‘widely presented’ reason for Baba’s quarrel with Atiku - the EFCC report on PTDF money, the report did not in anyway mentioned that Atiku embezzled the PTDF money, or use it for personal purpose, rather, it concluded that the vice president used his position to place the said money in an account, which enabled Nigerian investor(s) / business men (from the same tribe as the president), secured money to commence what is now becoming an international business; changing the nation’s investment landscape, offering more opportunity for Nigerians to work, sponsoring our football league to the tune of N600m, paying for a top rated foreign coach for the national team among others. The other conclusion was based on assumption that remains to be ´proved that, Atiku has interest in the said company.

DELE AJAYI

It isnt Clear yet who Atiku's running Mate is. It could be Sen. Obi, Pat Utomi

Read This :http://odili.net/news/source/2007/feb/20/313.html

May the best possible govern NIgeria come May 29 abi na Oct 1st!

Na 4 God hand everything dey.

twinstaiye:

This is a dangerous precedence, and I must add that our parliament must quickly amend the constitution. The danger inherent in this is that, as soon as another government is installed, so long as the VP have the support of the house, he can change party and continue to remain in the opposition, simply because his allegiance is not to the President but the constitution. What a flaw in our constitution! Anyway, I want to believe that the supreme court will right this error of judgment.

I think we are getting things wrong, the court did not say the VP cannot be moved from office, it says the president has no power in removing him, there are procedures i believe in removing the VP or President from office, but i doubt if they want to go down that route of impeachment as we no some senators are not interested.

I went through all the postings, I want to conclude that most people are apologetic to OBJ's tyrannical rule. Because Atiku won some thoughts that the court are corrupt. The fact remains that since this nonsense started, Atiku has lost no case, this is a signal that all OBJ is doing is undemocratic and unconstitutional. If OBJ is sure Atiku is a thief and he is not one he should follow the due process. It is not right to fight corruption in a crude way, it may not achieve its aim. Obasanjo is as corrupt as Atiku, both of them should go to jail otherwise OBJ should leave Atiku alone so that next government tries both of them and together they go to jail.

Atiku is just too much,it just shows how smart he is ,he floors Obj at every junction,pleae haters leae the man alone,EFCC is just to witch hunt and stop perceived opponents of that baboon in Aso Rock,EFCC is an agency expected to fish out people suspected of defrauding the country or who had committed one crime or the other. ''They are expected to file their cases before the courts and allow them to decide.

Quoting from Section 6 of the Constitution, the constitution gives the power of pronouncement of guilt or not to the courts. ''It is only the courts that can pronounce whether somebody is a corrupt person or not. EFCC cannot indict anybody. The word ‘indicment’ does not exist in the book of EFCC. It is the pronouncement of a judicial panel of enquiry or of a court of law that can pronounce one guilty. “It is when one is found guilty that he or she becomes indicted. So, if somebdoy is accused or suspected of wrongdoing, that can’t stop him or her from contesting an election until he’s found guilty by the courts of law.The president should should stop using the commission as machinery for witch-hunting and persecuting his political opponents.

Shame on PDP

roscodaddy i feel u.

Roscodaddy:

Atiku is just too much,it just shows how smart he is ,he floors Obj at every junction,pleae haters leae the man alone,EFCC is just to witch hunt and stop perceived opponents of that baboon in Aso Rock,EFCC is an agency expected to fish out people suspected of defrauding the country or who had committed one crime or the other. ''They are expected to file their cases before the courts and allow them to decide.

Quoting from Section 6 of the Constitution, the constitution gives the power of pronouncement of guilt or not to the courts. ''It is only the courts that can pronounce whether somebody is a corrupt person or not. EFCC cannot indict anybody. The word ‘indicment’ does not exist in the book of EFCC. It is the pronouncement of a judicial panel of enquiry or of a court of law that can pronounce one guilty. “It is when one is found guilty that he or she becomes indicted. So, if somebdoy is accused or suspected of wrongdoing, that can’t stop him or her from contesting an election until he’s found guilty by the courts of law.The president should should stop using the commission as machinery for witch-hunting and persecuting his political opponents.

Shame on PDP

I-G-N-O-R-A-N-C-E Can those of you asking for a proof of his crime really get it?

How can EFCC prove Atiku's crime under his immunity? Of course, there are substantial evidence against him but he can only be prosecuted when his immunity expires.

Atiku is playing time, and desperately needs to use the immunity to shield himself away from any prosecutions but what he does not know is that Ribadu is not in a hurry. He would get him.

The country is impatient because we don't know all the crimes yet and we are not sure if he should contest. It is the anxiety that makes us worry but Ribadu has to keep all the facts secret as that is the essence of justice. Publicizing his crime and revealing the facts without a court hearing will be illegal and may give Atiku more time to prepare his defense, so I support EFCC to keep the evidence top secret.

Ask yourself: Why do Atiku need the VP position few days to the end of his tenure if he does not support the PDP, OBJ and the Presidency. In civilized countries, such a VP will resign.

You will agree with me that Atiku desperately need the immunity to avoid prosecution. He is probably praying that a COUP will occur or Ribadu will be assassinated before the election.

I can assure him that none of this will happen and if it does, any Military junta who takes over the affairs of the nation will assassinate all the corrupt politicians like Rawlings of Ghana did - purged Ghana of corrupt politicians that paved way for the country's progress and development today.

Watch out.

We can all howl till kingdom come or post our heart desire till nairaland server crashes. The real[b] TRUTH[/b] is OBJ has no LEGAL LEG to stand on. Atiku will run,he may not win and by 2011 both will pay for all their misdeed when a neutral regime wins at the poll. Because Yar'dua will not make any move on Atiku or OBJ.

Why is Obj so desperate to put in puppets like Yar Adua and Goodluck?Have you ever asked yourself,why is he saying it is a do or die affair,because his hands are not clean,when you talk about the consitution of our country,remember it was  made by Abacha,for Abacha,he made sure that the president is the most powerful person,go back and check the funtions of the Vice President,it is just merely advisory and you know what an advice is,either take it or leave it,OBJ has a lot to answer so we should stop taking sides and face the truth,if OBJ is sincere,why is Andy Uba not on the so called list,just this name alone why is it not there,there are others who made the list,imagine names like Alao Akala,who said he bought books worth 3b naira,his name is not there,guy OBJ i worse off abeg let us hear word.

Why is it that when we talk about Atiku people tend to start spitting fire at OBJ.

I have said this many times, OBJ can go to HELL with Atiku. OBJ's time is over hence defending OBJ is pure fruitless.

Atiku represents the wheel that rotates corruption in Nigeria and unless he is dealt with severely in terms of removing his immunity and prosecution in court, Nigeria's war against corruption won't be won.

This is the stand of those who strongly object to Atiku's candidature. Got it?

People are desperately clucthing onto straws by bringing OBJ into this. Im just shocked Atiku has so much guts? Does he think he is invincible?

My dislike of this cockroach grows daily. Im fed up with him, his advisors should be shot.

He wants to be president by all means. He appears to view it as his right.