On this day, May 8 in 2011, Muhammadu Buhari, a presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election went to court to seek nullification of the election.
This came up after Muhammadu Buhari had lost to Goodluck Jonathan, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011 presidential poll over allegation of irregularities.
The challenge, filed by the opposition Congress for Progressive Change, sought to overturn Jonathan’s win, citing voting irregularities. The CPC said it will appeal the decision.
Recall that Goodluck Jonathan was declared the winner of the April 16 election, receiving about 57 percent of the ballot.
His closest rival, CPC candidate and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, received about 31 percent.
Buhari, a Muslim, garnered wide support from Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north, where post-election rioting left at least 500 people dead.
Jonathan, a Christian, was competing for his first full term after succeeding the late president Umaru Yar’Adua, also a Muslim.
