Supreme Court hears appeals filed by Atiku, Obi, APM against Tinubu’s victory (LIVE UPDATES)

 

Today, a seven-member Supreme Court panel will hear Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi's appeals of the ruling from the Presidential Election Petition Court upholding President Bola Tinubu's election.

The panel's members, who have not yet been made public, will hear the pleas of Mr. Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Atiku and Mr. Obi failed to support their respective claims of widespread electoral malpractices during the conduct of the 25 February presidential election by Nigeria's electoral body, INEC, according to a ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, which is chaired by Haruna Tsammani.

On the grounds that the lawsuit lacked validity, the court also dismissed another petition that the APM had submitted.

Mr. Obi, the APM, and Atiku each submitted a separate appeal to contest the court's ruling.

The eligibility of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to run for office is one among the concerns brought up in the appeals.

The appellants brought up the fact that Mr. Tinubu was unable to win 25% of the legitimate votes cast in Abuja during the election.

They are disputing claims of vote tampering in favor of Mr. Tinubu as well as INEC's refusal to electronically transfer polling unit results to its Results Viewing (IReV) portal in real-time.

Mr. Tinubu's academic records, which Atiku acquired from Chicago State University (CSU) in October, are a major point of contention before the Supreme Court's seven-member bench.

In order to have the court verify the validity of Mr. Tinubu's CSU academic transcripts, Atiku has already submitted the president's educational records to the court.

However, Mr Tinubu’s lead lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in court filings said Atiku and Mr Obi’s appeals lack substance.

PREMIUM TIMES’ team is at the Supreme Court to bring you live updates from today’s proceedings.