Supreme Court to decide Tinubu, Atiku, Obi’s election dispute today

Today, the Supreme Court will listen to the appeals of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Mr. Peter Obi of the LP, and the APM, who are challenging the election victory of President Bola Tinubu of the APC in the presidential poll held on February 25, 2023.

The court notified all the parties about the hearing date last Thursday. The court has 60 days from the date of filing the appeals to deliver its final judgement on the matter.

The appellants are asking the court to overturn the judgement of the PEPC, which upheld Tinubu’s election on September 6, 2023. The PEPC had thrown out their petitions for being meritless and failing to prove their allegations of electoral malpractice, forgery, and perjury against Tinubu and INEC.

Atiku and Obi have filed separate appeals with 66 and 51 grounds, respectively, while APM has filed one appeal with 22 grounds. They have also sought permission from the Supreme Court to present fresh evidence to back up their claims.

Atiku and Obi are claiming that Tinubu submitted a fake certificate from CSU to INEC and that he was involved in a $460,000 forfeiture case in Washington, D.C. They have obtained Tinubu’s academic records from CSU and a court order from Illinois to request the FBI release documents on Tinubu’s case. They are also questioning the validity of the card readers used by INEC and the transmission of results through a server.

APM is arguing that Tinubu was not eligible to contest the election because he was not a Nigerian citizen by birth. The party is also accusing Tinubu of using state resources to influence the outcome of the election in his favour.

Tinubu and INEC have filed their responses to the appeals, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss them for being frivolous, vexatious, and incompetent. They have also raised preliminary objections to some of the grounds of appeal and the fresh evidence sought to be presented by the appellants.

The Supreme Court will be headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who will be assisted by six other justices. The court will hear the arguments of the parties and their counsel before delivering its verdict.

The Supreme Court judgement will determine the fate of Tinubu’s second term in office and the political future of Atiku and Obi, who have both expressed their desire to run for president again in 027. The judgement will also have implications for Nigeria’s democracy and stability, as many Nigerians and observers are keenly following the case with high expectations.