Nigeria’s Supreme Court has constituted a seven-member panel of justices to hear the appeal in the petitions filed by Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Chichi Ojei.
The trio, the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), are challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.
The court notices signed by Zainab M. Garba in the office of the registrar, said by the Order 2 Rule 1 (2) of the Supreme Court’s Rules 1985 as amended, the notice is deemed as sufficiently served on the parties.
According to the information in the notice, the list of members of the panel to sit on the appeals include justices Musa Dattijo Muhammad, Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Lawal Garba, Helen M. Ogunwumiju, I.N. Saulawa, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.
Atiku had in his appeal maintained that the Presidential Election Petitions Court erred when they dismissed his petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of irregularities in the presidential election, 25 percent requirement in the FCT, $$60,000 forfeiture and failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit the results from the polling units to the IREV using BVAS as provided in its laws and guidelines.
In the application by his counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), Atiku also requested leave to file academic records of Tinubu, which he alleged were forged.
On his part, Obi is contending that the tribunal’s refusal of his 18,088 polling units’ blurred results, was a miscarriage of justice.
Ojei of the APM, in her petition, is contending that Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima were disqualified on the grounds of invalid nomination for the offices.
But in his replies, Tinubu, through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) requested the court to hold that Atiku’s petition was an abuse of court process and lacked merit.
Tinubu described Obi’s petition as a jamboree and lacking in merit.
Meanwhile, the apex court has also fixed Monday, October 23, for hearing of the motion filed by Atiku, seeking to bring fresh evidence to prove that President Bola Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
