US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1190

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001190 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, NI 
SUBJECT: BUHARI TRIBUNAL CONTINUES, THE END IN SIGHT 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL.  REASONS 1.5 (B & D). 
 
1. (C)  SUMMARY:  The 2003 Presidential tribunal continues 
sitting and the quality of government witnesses continues to 
provide amusement to the judges and the gallery.  The 
testimony and the evidence presented is of questionable 
utility to the government's case but each one says that there 
were no problems in their area.  Testimony could wrap up by 
the end of July, but a final decision after an appeal to the 
Supreme Court is not expected before October.  While the case 
drags on, the opposition is losing steam but the Presidency 
is becoming more nervous.   END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C)  The tribunal hearing the case against the 2003 
Presidential elections continues hearing the case, but the 
pace appears to be picking up.  Since ANPP Presidential 
candidate Muhammadu Buhari's attorney, Mike Ahamba closed his 
case, President Obasanjo's attorney has finished his 
presentation.  The final step is the INEC case and the judges 
are hearing about three witnesses per day.  Sometimes the 
pace appears too fast, as yesterday when Ahamba received 
laughter from the court when, instead of admitting a document 
into evidence, he began his cross-examination before the 
other attorneys finished. 
 
3.  (C)  The witnesses called by the government continue to 
provide amusement to those following the case.  The witnesses 
for the ANPP told of killings, shootings, beatings and other 
malpractices which created a somber atmosphere.  Government 
witnesses give upbeat testimony and contradict themselves to 
the amusement of the packed courtroom.  One witness, 
obviously intoxicated, created mirth by stumbling while 
standing in the witness box and slurring his every word. 
Another witness, obviously frustrated with questions from the 
INEC attorney, finally blurted out, "just tell me what you 
want me to say!"  Other witnesses for the government outline 
the shortcomings of the process and violations of procedure, 
such as police officials signing for party agents, and 
blithely say that they carried out their duties "on 
directives from headquarters (INEC)."  In Edo state, for 
example, one government witness agreed that a group of 
military controlled the collation center and allowed no 
opposition party agents to witness.  Each of them say that 
they were instructed to allow no party agents to certify the 
materials before distribution.  One local government 
elections supervisor admitted that he had no knowledge of 
INEC's published guidelines before the election.  Each says 
that elections took place in all polling stations and that no 
problems were encountered. 
 
4.  (C)  The collation sheets that INEC claimed did not exist 
when subpoenaed by Buhari's legal team are now available in 
abundance.  Each witness carries in the collation form for 
presentation during his testimony.  (The witnesses are 
virtually all male.)  Each form looks suspiciously identical: 
 folded one time and placed neatly in an identical envelopes. 
 None of the forms were signed by ANPP party agent.  In some 
instances, forms from different states were certified by the 
same signatures.  Most suspicious, however, is the quality of 
the red carbon forms.  For documents handled since April of 
2003 they are amazingly clean.  (Anyone who has ever had a 
plane ticket would be immediately suspicious.)  One of the 
most interesting witnesses was an INEC official from Ogun 
State.  He arrived with a bundle of forms from various 
polling stations and proceeded to submit them into evidence. 
On cross-examination, however, he stumbled.  Buhari's 
attorney presented him with collation sheets from several 
polling stations previously admitted into evidence.  The old 
sheets, produced by INEC early in the trial, did not match 
the current ones INEC was presenting.  The witness was at a 
loss to explain the discrepancy. 
 
5.  (C)  COMMENT:  It is likely that the case will be closed 
before the end of July.  No one knows how long the tribunal 
might take to present its decision.  In any event the 
decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court.  It is 
unlikely that a final resolution to the case will come before 
October and possible that it won't be resolved until later. 
Buhari, present most days in court, remains sphinx-like 
although at times the testimony wins a smile from him.  He 
appears tired of the process and anxious to move on.  The 
Presidency, nervous about the outcome of the case (septel), 
continues making efforts to control the timing and direction 
of the decision through contacts with judges, witnesses and 
members of the legal team.  END COMMENT. 
CAMPBELL