Supreme Court Affirms President Tinubu’s Victory, Dismisses Atiku and Obi’s Appeals

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election, dismissing the appeals of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Mr Peter Obi.

In a unanimous judgment led by Justice Inyang Okoro, the court upheld the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) verdict delivered on September 6.

The legal battle began in March when Atiku, Obi, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and others challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential poll.

INEC had announced Tinubu’s victory, stating that he secured 8,794,726 votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar, who received 6,984,520 votes, and Mr Peter Obi, who came third with 6,101,533 votes.

Read also: APC Slams INEC’s Delisting of Candidate Timipre Sylva, Claims It’s Premature.

President Tinubu expressed his satisfaction with the Supreme Court’s decision, emphasizing that justice was served and called on all Nigerians to unite in nation-building efforts.

However, the ruling was met with criticism from the PDP and LP. The PDP expressed disappointment, while the LP raised concerns about the potential threat to democracy, alleging that the Executive branch had undue influence over the Legislature and Judiciary.

APC’s National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling and urged Atiku and Obi to set aside their differences and work with President Tinubu for the nation’s progress.

The Supreme Court, in its lead judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, declared that there was no merit in Atiku/PDP and Obi/LP’s petitions seeking to nullify the election results.

The court rejected Atiku’s attempt to introduce fresh evidence from the Chicago State University, claiming that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to INEC.

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