The Supreme Court has formed a seven-member panel of justices to hear the appeals in the petitions filed by three presidential candidates challenging the outcome of the February 25 election.
The notices for the hearing were served on the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; that of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi; and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Chichi Ojei.
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.
The list of panel members includes Justices Adamu Jauro, Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Lawal Garba, Helen M. Ogunwumiju, I.N. Saulawa, Tijjani Abubakar, and Emmanuel Agim.
Atiku’s appeal argues that the Presidential Election Petitions Court erred in dismissing his petition and failing to prove allegations of irregularities in the presidential election.
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Atiku had pleaded with the Supreme Court to scrap technicality and grant his application for leave to tender fresh and additional evidence to support his claim that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted a forged document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the February 25 presidential election.
Atiku predicated his plea because presenting forged documents by any candidate, especially by a candidate for the highest office in the land, is a grave constitutional issue that must not be encouraged.
Peter Obi challenges the tribunal’s refusal to admit 18,088 polling units’ blurred results.
Ojei contends that Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima, were disqualified due to invalid office nominations.
In response, Tinubu requested the court to hold that Atiku’s petition was an abuse of the court process and lacked merit, while he described Obi’s petition as a festival and lacking in merit.
Recall that the Court fixed Monday, October 23, 2023, for hearing of the appeal filed by Atiku.
