Tinubu and Atiku
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain the application of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar to file fresh evidence in his case against the declaration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The Court maintained that it lacked jurisdiction to admit fresh evidence in the appeal of the judgment of the presidential election petition tribunal.
In a judgment read by Justice Iyang Okoro, the court said the time fixed for tendering of evidence has elapsed and cannot be extended.
“The 180 days imposed for hearing of election petitions is immutable and cannot be extended,” Okoro who is leading a panel of seven member said.
The apex said the motion could not be granted.
Atiku had urged the Supreme Court to admit fresh documents against President Bola Tinubu when the matter came last Monday.
The Court also said the motion by Atiku did not meet the criteria for admission of fresh evidence.
The apex court noted that the appellant failed to obtain fresh evidence for the trial even though the certificate was published over one year ago.
“The application is hereby refused and accordingly refused”
Speaking at the court on Monday, his lead counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, urged the court to adopt the application and grant their request.
He said, “The issue involving Mr Tinubu’s certificate is a weighty, grave, and constitutional one, which the Supreme Court should admit. I urge the court to admit the fresh evidence of President Tinubu’s academic records from CSU presented by Atiku.
He was however opposed by INEC lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud and the lead counsel to President Tinubu, Wole Olanipekun who urged the Supreme Court to dismiss Atiku’s application
Olanipekun argued that INEC should have been a party at the deposition proceedings in the US, noting that the CSU depositions are dormant until the deponent comes to court and testify.
Also, the Supreme Court has upheld the Election Tribunal’s ruling on 25 percent of votes in Abuja needed to win the presidential election.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) had declared that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) does not hold a higher status than other States in the country.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday, October 26, 2023, by Justice John Okoro during the hearing of the appeals filed against the victory of Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
In his ruling, Justice Okoro said that Section 299 of the Constitution of Nigeria expressly states that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) should be treated as one of the states in the calculation of two-thirds of the states of the Federation for the purposes of returning a presidential candidate as duly elected.
Okoro said that this means that if a presidential candidate polls 25%, or one-quarter of the vote, in two-thirds of the 27 states of the Federation, FCT inclusive, the presidential candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected, even if he/she fails to secure 35% of the votes cast in the federal capital territory, Abuja.
He also stated that he did not see anything wrong with the Tribunal’s decision, as it was in line with the provisions of the Constitution.
The judge added that the Constitution requires the court to make broad interpretations of the law and that the Tribunal’s decision served the generality of the people by ensuring that Abuja/FCT residents have the same voting rights as residents of other states in the Federation.
The court, therefore, dismissed the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s, petition for 25 percent of the votes in Abuja needed to win the presidential election.
Similarly, the court has held that the failure by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit election results electronically did not affect the outcome of the election and could not warrant the nullification of the result of the presidential election.
