Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party’s Mr. Peter Obi have taken their fight against President Bola Tinubu’s election victory to the Supreme Court, seeking nullification of the result.
They are challenging the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that confirmed Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the rightful winner of the February 25 presidential poll.Â
Atiku, represented by a team of 67 lawyers including 18 Senior Advocates of Nigeria led by Chief Chris Uche, filed a 35-point appeal. He claims the PEPC decision was against evidence provided and constituted a “grave miscarriage of justice.” Atiku’s contention is that the PEPC erred in not nullifying the election based on alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.Â
The crux of his argument rests on the alleged failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adhere to the Electronic Act 2022’s mandate for electronic transmission of results. He asserts that while results of the National Assembly election were electronically transmitted without issues, those of the presidential election weren’t.
Obi, on the other hand, lodged a 51-point appeal through his legal team led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu. He argues that the PEPC wrongly dismissed his claims of irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022.Â
Among the myriad of issues raised, Obi emphasized on the allegation that INEC uploaded 18,088 blurred results on its IReV portal. He also pointed out that certified true copies of documents provided by INEC to his team had 8,123 blurred results, which he believes significantly affected the election’s outcome.
Both Atiku and Obi are urging the apex court to overturn the PEPC’s decision. While Atiku seeks either a declaration as the true winner or a fresh election, Obi emphasizes on alleged discrepancies in the voting process and previous allegations against President Tinubu.
The appeals have named INEC, President Tinubu, and the APC as respondents. As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s verdict, political pundits predict that this could be one of the most significant election cases in Nigeria’s history.
