The Supreme Court has constituted a 7-member panel of judges to hear the appeals filed by the three presidential candidates challenging the announcement of president Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 election.
The 3 candidates are also challenging the dismissal of their petitions by the election petition tribunal.
The petitioners are Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Chichi Ojei of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
The Supreme Court notices for the hearing were served on the candidates and made known to newsmen on Thursday.
The notices signed by Zainab M. Garba in the office of the registrar, said by 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.
In his appeal, Atiku Insists that the Presidential Election Petitions Court erred when they dismissed his petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of irregularities in the presidential election, 25 percent requirement in the FCT, $460,000 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 counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), Atiku also requested leave to file academic records of Tinubu, which he alleged were forged. On his part, Obi says the tribunal’s refusal of his 18,088 polling units’ blurred results was a miscarriage of justice.
Ojei of the APM, in her petition, is contending that Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima, were disqualified on the grounds of invalid nomination for the offices.
In his replies, Tinubu, through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), requested the court to hold that Atiku’s petition was an abuse of court process and lacked merit.
Tinubu has described Obi’s petition as a jamboree and should be dismissed. The Supreme Court has until November 6, 2023, to give a final judgment on the appeals.
It however, fixed October 23 to hear the certificate forgery case filed by Atiku against Tinubu.