In a decisive ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court quashed all appeals presented by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), upholding the triumph of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.
The seven-judge panel deemed the opposition’s claims of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s alleged ineligibility as lacking in merit. The apex court meticulously rejected all grounds of appeal, including challenges on Tinubu’s qualification, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the 25% votes in FCT, and allegations of electoral malpractices.
“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,” Justice Inyang Okoro said in dismissing Atiku’s appeal.
“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.”
It considered Obi’s appeal briefly, deliberating for approximately five minutes. Addressing the matter of Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s double nomination, the court affirmed that this particular concern had previously been addressed in its verdict on May 26.
“As for issue Number 4 which has to do with double nomination which was not in Atiku’s appeal, it is the view of this court that this issue having been dealt with by this court, this court cannot allow the matter to be re-litigated in this very court. There must be an end to litigation,” Justice Okoro held.
“For us to sit down now and talk about when this man resigned or did not resign when they did fresh primaries to replace him which we have done before, we are not going to do this again.
“This matter ought not to have come in. When this matter was pending at the trial court, this court delivered that judgment. If you read the judgment of the lower court, they mentioned that the Supreme Court has settled this matter and that should have been the end.
“You now bring this issue of double nomination for us to sit on it and write another judgment, this is not how it should be. This appeal lacks merit and is hereby dismissed.”
Last month, an electoral appeals court had already dismissed the petitions from the two primary opposition parties, which included allegations of fraud, violations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and contentions that Tinubu did not meet the constitutional prerequisites.
In addition to their initial assertions, Atiku’s legal team also attempted to introduce fresh evidence, alleging that Tinubu had submitted a forged certificate from Chicago State University to the election commission during his presidential candidacy application.
Supreme Court Affirms Tinubu’s Election as President
Promising an agenda of “Renewed Hope,” Tinubu assumed office in May and swiftly implemented reforms aimed at bolstering Africa’s largest economy and attracting increased foreign investment, as per the government’s claims.
