US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1181

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