Buhari: I expect Atiku to go to court

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said that he expected the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its presidential candidate in last month’s election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to go to court to contest the outcome of the polls.

Atiku is already in court   for that purpose.

Going to court, Buhari said was part of the democratic process.

The president spoke with journalists after casting his vote in  the governorship and state assembly elections at the Kofar Baru 003 polling unit, Daura, Katsina State.

Asked to react to Atiku’s decision to challenge the result of the presidential election at the election tribunal, Buhari simply said: “I expect that to happen.”

On yesterday’s polls, the president said security agencies especially the police were taking care of the flashpoints in the country to ensure hitch-free voting across the country.

Asked how violence could be contained at such flashpoints, he said: “I will leave it to the law enforcement agencies especially the police because they have been meeting virtually on a 48-hour basis to make sure that they have identified the flashpoints, as you mentioned, wherever they are and make arrangements to counter it.”

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday turned down Atiku’s request to be allowed to conduct forensic analysis and scanning of materials used during the election The tribunal said such request  for forensic analysis and scanning by experts, of computers, card reader machines and server ,among others, deployed for the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was beyond the scope of  the provisions of Section 151 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act (as amended),which permits the inspection of election materials.