Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi Challenge Presidential Election Verdict at Supreme Court

In an effort to contest the outcome of the February 25th presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) have filed separate appeals with the Nigerian Supreme Court. Both candidates are seeking to overturn the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), which affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu, representing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). They have raised several key arguments in their appeals, challenging the validity of the election results and the conduct of the election itself.

Issues Raised by Atiku Abubakar:

Atiku Abubakar, supported by a consortium of 67 lawyers, including 18 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, has presented 35 grounds of appeal. Among his key arguments are:

1. Non-Compliance with Electoral Act: Atiku claims that the PEPC failed to nullify the presidential election despite evidence of non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022, including the failure to electronically transmit results.

2. Technical Glitch: He contends that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) experienced a technical glitch on election day that was not adequately explained by INEC’s sole witness, affecting the integrity of the election.

3. Constitutional Requirement: Atiku emphasizes that President Tinubu did not secure at least 25% of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as mandated by the Constitution.

4. Legitimate Expectation: He argues that the doctrine of legitimate expectation warrants the cancellation of the election outcome.

Atiku seeks the Supreme Court to declare him the winner, order his swearing-in as President, or order a run-off election between him and Tinubu.

Peter Obi Rejects PEPC Judgement, Heads To Supreme Court

Peter Obi’s Grounds of Appeal:

Peter Obi, who came third in the presidential election, has presented 51 grounds of appeal to challenge the PEPC’s decision. Some of his main contentions include:

1. Error in Law and Fact: Obi claims that the PEPC wrongly evaluated the evidence he provided, leading to a miscarriage of justice.

2. Alleged Irregularities: He argues that the panel failed to recognize irregularities in the election, including the non-transmission of results electronically and issues with the Certified True Copies of documents provided by INEC.

3. Double Nomination: Obi insists that the PEPC wrongly dismissed the issue of double nomination involving Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was fined $460,000 in a drug-related case in the USA.

Peter Obi and the Labour Party seek to have the Supreme Court set aside the PEPC’s judgment and grant their main or alternative reliefs, including challenging the 25% requirement for Abuja in the presidential election.

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