The Supreme Court will hear an appeal on Monday from Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who is challenging the election victory of President Bola Tinubu. The court notified the legal representatives of both parties last Thursday, according to sources.
Abubakar and the PDP had filed a petition against the results of the presidential election that took place on February 25, alleging various irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act. They also claimed that Tinubu and his running mate, Vice President Kashim Shettima, were not qualified to contest and that they did not secure the majority of lawful votes.
However, their petition was dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on September 6, which ruled that Abubakar failed to prove his allegations.
Abubakar then appealed to the Supreme Court on September 18, raising 35 grounds of objection to the tribunal’s judgement. He argued that the tribunal made significant errors and misrepresentations that resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
He also sought permission from the court to introduce new evidence against Tinubu, relating to alleged discrepancies and forgeries in his academic records.
Abubakar had obtained Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University (CSU) through a US court order and wanted to present them to the Supreme Court.
Tinubu, on the other hand, urged the court to dismiss the appeal as “abusive” and opposed the application to introduce fresh evidence. He maintained that the issue of certificate forgery was not part of Abubakar’s original petition at the tribunal.
The Supreme Court has until November 5 to deliver its judgement, as stipulated by law.
