The Supreme Court has set up a seven-member panel of justices that will hear the appeal in the petitions lodged by the two presidential candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party, challenging the outcome of the last election that produced Bola Tinubu as president.
Though, this is coming after notices for the hearing which is to commence by 23 of October 2023 were served on the duo.
The notices signed by Zainab M. Garba in the office of the registrar which was made available to newsmen, said by the Order 2 Rule 1(2) of the Supreme Court’s Rules 1985 as amended, the notice is deemed as sufficiently served on the parties.
The list of members of the panel to sit on the appeals include justices Musa Dattijo Muhammad, Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Lawal Garba, Helen M. Ogunwumiju, I.N. Saulawa, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.
Recall that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had in his appeal argued that the Presidential Election Petitions Court goofed when they struck out his petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of irregularities in the presidential election, 25 percent requirement in the FCT, $$60,000 forfeiture and failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit the results from the polling units to the IREV using BVAS as provided in its laws and guidelines.
In the application by his legal representative, Chris Uche (SAN), Atiku also requested leave to file academic records of Tinubu from Chicago State University, which he alleged were forged.
While Mr Peter Obi is contending that the tribunal’s refusal of his 18,088 polling units’ blurred results, was a miscarriage of justice.
Meanwhile, in his replies, Tinubu, through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) requested that the court should rule that Atiku’s petition was an abuse of court process and lacked merit.
On the other hand, he described Obi’s petition as a jamboree and lacking in merit.
