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The Supreme Court, on Thursday, upheld President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election that took place on February 25, 2023. In its ruling, the apex court rejected the appeals made by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his counterpart from the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
A seven-judge panel deemed the opposition appeals, which included allegations of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s eligibility for the presidency, as lacking merit. The court dismissed all grounds of appeal put forth by Atiku and the PDP, including issues related to qualification, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the 25% votes requirement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and electoral malpractices.
Justice Inyang Okoro, in dismissing Atiku’s appeal, 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 6, 2023, affirming the election of the second respondent (Tinubu) as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is hereby affirmed.”
The court also briefly considered Obi’s appeal, particularly regarding the issue of the double nomination of Vice-President Kashim Shettima. The court ruled that this issue had already been addressed in its earlier ruling on May 26.
Justice Okoro explained, “As for issue Number 4, which has to do with double nomination and was not included in Atiku’s appeal, it is the view of this court that this issue has already been dealt with, and we cannot allow it to be re-litigated. There must be an end to litigation. This matter ought not to have come in. When this matter was pending at the trial court, this court had already delivered its 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.”
In September, the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) had already rejected the petitions of Obi and Atiku, which included allegations of fraud, violations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and claims that Tinubu did not meet the constitutional requirements. The Tribunal had affirmed Tinubu’s election.
Additionally, Atiku’s legal team had attempted to introduce new evidence, alleging that Tinubu had submitted a forged certificate from Chicago State University as a qualification when applying to run for president. However, the Supreme Court rejected Atiku’s appeal to admit this evidence, stating that the time for the submission of fresh appeals had passed.
