ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian Supreme Court has convened a seven-member panel of justices, primed to address the appeals stemming from petitions filed by two presidential candidates, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Both candidates contest the election results that led to Bola Tinubu’s presidency.
Notices of the hearing, scheduled to commence on October 23, 2023, have been duly served to Abubakar and Obi.
According to documents made accessible to journalists, Zainab M. Garba from the registrar’s office affirmed that by the Order 2 Rule 1(2) of the Supreme Court’s Rules 1985, as updated, both parties have adequately received the notices.
The justices selected for the panel include Musa Dattijo Muhammad, Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Lawal Garba, Helen M. Ogunwumiju, I.N. Saulawa, Tijjani Abubakar, and Emmanuel Agim.
It’s noteworthy to remember that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s appeal criticizes the Presidential Election Petitions Court for dismissing his petition.
The court cited the inability of the petitioners to validate allegations of irregularities in the presidential election, the 25 percent requirement in the FCT, a $$60,000 forfeiture, and the claimed failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to relay the results from the polling units to the IREV using BVAS as dictated by its rules and guidelines.
Through his lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), Abubakar also sought permission to present purported academic records from Chicago State University, which he claims were falsified by Tinubu.
Conversely, Peter Obi contends that the tribunal’s rejection of the blurred results from his 18,088 polling units was unjust.
In response to these claims, President Tinubu, represented by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), argues for the court to determine Abubakar’s petition as meritless and a misuse of the judicial process.
Simultaneously, he dismissed Obi’s petition as a frivolous jamboree, equally lacking in substance.
The pending Supreme Court hearing promises to be a defining moment, potentially reshaping the political landscape depending on the outcome.
