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Unease as the Supreme Court struggle between Obi, Tinubu, and Atiku resumes. 

By; Mary Owolabi

The Supreme Court is set to begin hearing today, Monday, appeals filed by Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Peter Obi of the Labor Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). They are challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election held on February 25. The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal had earlier upheld Tinubu’s victory. Last Thursday, the Supreme Court sent notices to all parties involved to inform them of the hearing date.

Atiku and Obi have expressed their disagreement with the tribunal’s verdict and have filed appeals at the Supreme Court. Atiku, who is the PDP candidate, has further filed a request to present a copy of Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University in the USA, which he believes will prove that Tinubu presented a fake certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The former vice president is currently pursuing legal action in Washington, D.C. to compel the FBI to release documents related to President Tinubu’s $460,000 forfeiture case. A recent report reveals that on October 13th, Tinubu requested the Supreme Court to discard his academic records from Chicago State University, which were submitted by Atiku Abubakar.

The President commented that such an act was unusual in the country’s judicial proceedings. Tinubu argued that the discovery of the CSU records was not part of the official record or judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal. Therefore, he requested the apex court not to consider it.

He further stated that Atiku tends to file a petition without sufficient evidence, as demonstrated when Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 Presidential election, filed an appeal to challenge the ruling of the tribunal.

Mr. Muhammadu Buhari has denied allegations that his credentials contained discrepancies, stating that the claim was unfounded through his lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN. There are concerns about whether the Supreme Court will admit fresh evidence or not in response to this denial.

A legal practitioner from Rivers State named Mathew Abakpa has stated that it is legally possible for the Supreme Court to consider the new evidence. However, he also clarified that the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to accept the new evidence or not is a separate matter altogether.