The Supreme Court has decided to withhold its judgment regarding an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, aimed at overturning President Bola Tinubu’s election.
The seven-member panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, accepted the matter for judgment after all parties presented their arguments. Among the panel members were Justices Uwani Abba-Aji, Lawal Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Abubakar Tijjani, and Emmanuel Akomaye Agim.
President Tinubu, during the proceedings, addressed the court on why it should not admit his certificate that was released to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, by the Chicago State University, CSU. Tinubu, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued that the foreign depositions that Atiku relied on to apply for the certificate to be admitted in evidence were done in a private law chamber in the United States of America, USA.
He further argued that the requisite condition precedent was not met by the Applicants to enable the apex court to be able to admit the documents in evidence. “In the USA, we have their rules, this depositions are not even admissible in their own courts! We have highlighted those rules in our counter affidavit. “My lords, this is aside from the fact that the depositions were not done in the court, but in private chambers,” Olanipekun added.
On the other hand, INEC, represented by Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), represented by Mr. Akinola Olujimi, SAN, argued against the admission of the CSU certificate. They emphasized the need for a court order in Nigeria before approaching the CSU for the certificate and pointed out that a fundamental step had been omitted.
However, Atiku and the PDP’s counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, urged the Supreme Court to consider the fresh evidence and emphasized that the court should prioritize justice over technicalities. They argued that the 180-day time limit should not hinder the court’s decision.
The case was deemed to be of significant public importance by Justice Okoro, who headed the panel. However, he raised concerns about the evidence that Atiku sought to present, considering possible elements of a crime. Justice Okoro highlighted discrepancies in documents related to the CSU certificate and emphasized the seriousness of the matter.
The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment and will communicate the date of the verdict to the parties involved.