Tinubu Urges Supreme Court to Throw Out Atiku’s Appeal

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal filed by the former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, challenging his victory in the February 25 presidential election.

Atiku and the PDP had approached the apex court on September 18, seeking to overturn the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), which affirmed Tinubu’s election as valid and lawful.

The appellants alleged that the tribunal erred in law and facts in dismissing their petition, which raised issues of irregularities, malpractices, non-compliance with electoral laws, and forgery of Tinubu’s academic qualification.

They also brought in fresh and additional evidence to prove that Tinubu did not possess a valid Chicago State University (CSU) certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification for the presidential election.

They argued that Tinubu lied on oath regarding his academic qualification and violated Section 137 of the Constitution, which provides grounds for disqualification of a presidential candidate.

However, in his response filed on October 12, Tinubu described Atiku’s appeal as “abusive in nature” and lacking in merit and bona fide. He contended that the tribunal was correct in upholding his election because Atiku and the PDP failed to prove their allegations and submissions.

He accused the appellants of engaging in a “fishing expedition” and “forum shopping” by bringing up new issues and evidence at the Supreme Court level that were not raised or tendered at the tribunal.

He urged the Supreme Court to affirm the decision of the tribunal and dismiss Atiku’s appeal in its entirety. He also asked for an award of costs against the appellants for wasting the time of the court.