Just in: Supreme Court upholds Tribunal’s verdict on presidential election

The Supreme Court on Thursday,  upheld the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 25% decision.

The apex court strike out the appeal by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party – the two leading opposition candidates at the election – had filed separate appeals to challenge the earlier 6 September verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court which affirmed Mr. Tinubu’s victory.

Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, had declared Mr Tinubu the winner of the election on 1 March.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Supreme Court rejects Atiku’s fresh evidence against Tinubu

However, Atiku and Mr. Obi, who came second and third, respectively, questioned INEC’s conduct of the polls; as they alleged widespread electoral fraud and the ineligibility of Mr Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to vie for the presidency.

A five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court headed by Haruna Tsammani adjudicated the suits for three months before dismissing them on 6 September.

The court held that Atiku and Mr Obi failed to prove their separate claims against Mr Tinubu and INEC.

Dissatisfied, the pair headed to the Supreme Court, the final arbiter on presidential election dispute in Nigeria, where they urged the court to set aside the presidential election court decision on account of miscarriage of justice.

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court headed by John Okoro heard Atiku and Mr Obi’s appeals on Monday, and set them down for judgment.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court brings down curtain on 2023 presidential election disputes

At the final hearing of the case on Monday, Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche tendered fresh evidence before the Supreme Court to prove his client’s case against the President.

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Specifically, Atiku through his lawyer, Chris Uche, accused Mr Tinubu of forgery concerning the president’s academic records from the Chicago State University.

After a rigorous suit in the United States, Atiku obtained Mr Tinubu’s academic records which he has now filed at the Supreme Court to prove his forgery allegation which was rejected by the presidential election court, against Mr Tinubu.

On his part, Mr Obi’s lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu, urged the Supreme Court to nullify the presidential election court decision and declare Mr Obi the winner of the election.

However, the president’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, and APC’s Akin Olujinmi, asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeals and affirm Mr Tinubu’s victory.