ABUJA, Nigeria – The Presidential Election Petitions Court has rejected the allegations of dual citizenship and drug conviction raised by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Justice Moses Ugo, delivering the judgment on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, held that Atiku’s claims introduced “new issues” that were not originally pleaded in their petition challenging Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the February 25 presidential election.
The court upheld the objections by APC and President Tinubu against these grounds, labeling them as “new issues” and therefore inadmissible.
In the run-up to this decision, Atiku Abubakar had argued that President Tinubu was “constitutionally disabled” from running for the office of the President due to a previous legal issue related to narcotics in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
Atiku claimed that Tinubu had forfeited $460,000 in a compromise agreement for a narcotics-related crime.
Further, Atiku alleged that Tinubu failed to disclose on his form EC9 that he holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and Guinea, having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Guinea.
This dismissal of Atiku’s claims adds another layer to the tense political climate and is seen as a win for the APC and President Tinubu, whose legitimacy to hold office has faced multiple legal challenges since his electoral victory on February 25.
With both Labour Party’s Peter Obi and now PDP’s Atiku Abubakar having their petitions dismissed, President Tinubu’s position seems to be solidifying, although the defeated candidates have both signaled that they are not ready to back down.
The dismissal has spurred a range of reactions across the political spectrum.
Supporters of President Tinubu see this as a vindication and a step toward stability, while critics argue that the judgment leaves many questions unanswered.
Given the current circumstances, it remains to be seen what steps the PDP and Atiku will take next. Legal experts suggest that an appeal to a higher court may be in the offing, but this has yet to be confirmed.
