Supreme Court Constitutes 7-Member Panel for Atiku, Obi’s Appeal

• The Supreme Court forms a seven-member panel to hear appeals by presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Chichi Ojei
• The appeals challenge election irregularities, refusal to admit results, and disqualification of Tinubu and Shettima

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 unconfirmed 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.

Peter Obi challenges the tribunal’s refusal to admit 18,088 polling units’ blurred results. At the same time, Chichi 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, and he described Obi’s petition as a festival and lacking in merit.

Supreme Court fixes date to hear Atiku’s appeal against Tinubu’s victory at PEPT

The Supreme Court has fixed Monday, October 23, 2023, for hearing of an appeal filed by Atiku Abubakar, challenging the judgement of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s Bola Tinubu.

Recall that 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 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.

The former vice president stated this in his reply on point of law to Tinubu’s objection to the grant of leave to Atiku to present the fresh evidence before the apex court.