Nigeria’s Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgment on Thursday, upholding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 Presidential elections and dismissing the appeal filed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate.
The Supreme Court ruled that the appeal lacked merit.
A seven-man panel of Justices led by Inyang Okoro upheld the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which had affirmed the election of President Tinubu. In the notice of appeal, Atiku had urged the apex court to set aside the September 6 judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which had upheld the election of President Tinubu.
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Justice Inyang Okoro, while reading the judgment, stated: “On the whole, having resolved all the issues against the appellant, it is my view that there is no merit in the appeal and it is hereby dismissed. The judgment of the court below delivered on September 6th, 2023, affirming the election of the second respondent as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is hereby affirmed.”
The Supreme Court held that President Tinubu had secured the majority of lawful votes cast and that Atiku had failed to produce alternative results of the presidential election that demonstrated he had won the majority of lawful votes cast, which would invalidate the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Additionally, the court ruled that the absence of the election results on the INEC Result Viewing Portal in real-time did not affect the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
The Supreme Court also concurred with the Court of Appeal’s position that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was not different from other states, and the failure to obtain 25% of the vote in the FCT did not impact the overall results.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court dismissed Atiku’s request to use academic records obtained from Chicago State University as fresh evidence to establish forgery against President Tinubu. The court ruled that the issue of forgery was not covered by the seven issues Atiku had brought for determination and that the Constitution did not permit introducing such evidence.
“The jurisdiction of this court is donated by the constitution and the electoral act regarding election petition appeals. We cannot invoke section 22 of the Supreme Court act since the lower court has since lost its jurisdiction. Moreover, there is no paragraph in the petition to accommodate a case of forgery,” Justice Inyang Okoro stated.
Regarding the INEC results viewing portal (IReV), the Supreme Court acknowledged that its malfunctioning could affect voter trust, but it determined that the unavailability of IReV could not nullify the election results.
“The failure did not affect the outcome of the election. The issue is resolved against the appellants,” Justice Okoro said.
In response to questions about the significance of FCT’s performance, Justice Okoro asked, “Are you saying if someone scores 25% votes in 30 states but not in Abuja, he should not be president? Is that how you interpret the law? That is not the law. Supreme Court agrees with the Court of Appeal.”
This ruling by the Supreme Court effectively brings an end to the legal challenges against President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 Presidential elections, confirming his position as the duly elected President of Nigeria.
However, reactions from Nigerians indicate that the majority were not expecting a different judgment from the Supreme Court, which they believe has been compromised.
A poll conducted by Peoples Gazette, a Nigerian online tabloid, on Wednesday, asked whether Nigerians expect the Supreme Court to base its decision on the 2023 presidential election petitions on merit and evidence or technicality. Over 60% of the respondents answered in favor of technicality.
Nigerians, do you expect the Supreme Court to decide the 2023 presidential election petitions based on merit and evidence or technicality?
— Peoples Gazette (@GazetteNGR) October 25, 2023