The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed one of the two opposition challenges against President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the last presidential elections.
This confirmation of Tinubu’s election victory brings an end to the legal challenge by his two main opponents, who claimed that there were anomalies in his win.
Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi had both attempted to challenge the outcome of the presidential election held in February. They claimed that irregularities had tainted the election.
Last month, the Election Petition Court upheld Mr. Tinubu’s victory. However, the opposition is adamant that Nigeria’s highest court should overturn the judgement.
Atiku Abubakar, representing the People’s Democratic Party, and Peter Obi, from the Labour Party, secured second and third place, respectively, in the February election. However, they expressed their disagreement with the outcome and demanded the annulment of Tinubu’s victory.
The two opposition leaders appealed the tribunal judgement that endorsed Tinubu’s victory on September 6th.
“There is no merit in this appeal, and it is hereby dismissed,” said Supreme Court judge John Okoro.
The ruling will provide the 71-year-old Tinubu with a strong mandate to lead Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria is currently facing challenges such as double-digit inflation, foreign currency shortages, a weakening currency, widespread insecurity, and crude oil theft.
The final judgement by seven Supreme Court judges follows a pattern observed in previous court challenges to presidential elections. All the attempts to challenge the results through legal means have been unsuccessful.
In Nigeria, there has never been a case where the result of a presidential election has been overturned.
