The Supreme Court has slated Monday, 23 October, to hear three appeals contesting the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Court that upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election victory.
The announcement came from the court’s registrar, Zainab Garba, on Thursday.
The appellants in the case are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). They are urging the Supreme Court to nullify the Presidential Election Petition Court’s ruling that affirmed Mr. Tinubu’s victory on September 6.
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The Presidential Election Petition Court, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, had dismissed the suits on the grounds that the petitioners failed to substantiate their allegations of electoral fraud against Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, and Mr. Tinubu.
Atiku Abubakar’s Appeal
In Atiku’s appeal, his lead lawyer, Chris Uche, presented the case on 35 grounds. Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that the Presidential Election Petition Court erred in its verdict. He contended that the court failed to adequately evaluate Atiku’s evidence before reaching its conclusions and also criticized the use of “disparaging words” against Atiku, which he claimed showed bias.
Additionally, Atiku filed fresh evidence concerning President Tinubu’s academic records obtained from Chicago State University in the United States. Although the issue was previously dismissed by the presidential election court, Atiku intends to reinvigorate it with the newly acquired documents.
Peter Obi’s Appeal
Peter Obi’s appeal, presented by his lawyer Livy Uzoukwu, consists of 51 grounds challenging the Presidential Election Petition Court’s judgment. Uzoukwu, a SAN, argues that the PEPC reached incorrect conclusions. He criticized the court’s evaluation of Mr. Obi’s evidence, asserting that it wrongly ruled on the failure to establish polling stations where electoral malpractices occurred during the presidential election.
APM’s Suit
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) based their appeal on the alleged improper nomination of Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu’s running mate. APM’s lawyer, Chukwuma-Machukwu-Ume, a SAN, predicated his client’s suit on 10 grounds. He asked the Supreme Court to nullify the Presidential Election Petition Court’s verdict for its numerous errors in law.
President Tinubu, INEC, and other respondents have urged the apex court to dismiss the appeals, arguing they lack merit and that the court’s previous decision affirming Mr. Tinubu’s victory was correct.
As Nigeria gears up for these crucial legal proceedings, the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s decision, which will have far-reaching implications on the political landscape. The court’s ruling will play a pivotal role in determining the future course of Nigerian politics.
Atiku’s fresh evidence from the CSU is expected to significantly impact the case. The former Vice President had urged the Supreme Court to jettison technicality and grant his application, arguing that the Nigerian presidency is too big to be tainted by the issue of certificate forgery.
“The need to rebuff, eschew, and reject technicality and the duty of the court to ensure substantial justice is very germane in this matter, given the gravity of the constitutional issue involved in deciding whether a candidate for the highest office in the land, the office of President of the country, presented a forged certificate or not,” he said.