Abubakar Atiku, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has taken his legal challenge against Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election to court. Leading his legal team, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chris Uche, presented a final petition before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), alleging serious irregularities in the election process.
Atiku asserted that the February 25 poll, which led to Tinubu being declared the winner, was the most problematic in Nigeria’s history. The petitioners accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of compromising the will of Nigerian voters, despite implementing a new electoral act and introducing technological innovations to ensure transparency.
During the proceedings, Atiku’s lawyer argued that INEC used a “technical glitch” as an excuse to intentionally manipulate the election results. They claimed that Atiku’s votes were suppressed and discounted, while Tinubu’s were inflated, ultimately leading to Tinubu’s victory.
Additionally, Atiku’s legal team contended that Tinubu did not meet the mandatory constitutional requirement of securing at least a quarter of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. They raised concerns over Tinubu’s eligibility to run for the presidency, pointing to a forfeiture judgment against him of $460,000 for a narcotics-related crime in the United States.
Furthermore, they alleged that Tinubu holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and Guinea and presented forged documents to INEC.
In response to these serious allegations, Atiku’s petition emphasized the importance of the court maintaining its impartiality and ensuring justice is served, without allowing any attempts to incite national chaos or anarchy.
