The Supreme Court, led by Justice Inyang Okoro and comprising a panel of seven justices, has decided to withhold its judgment regarding the appeal brought by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the September 6, 2023 decision of the Presidential Election Petition Court that confirmed President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the recent presidential election.
This announcement followed the parties’ legal representatives adopting their arguments and concluding their final submissions. Additionally, the highest court entertained arguments from the lawyers representing the parties concerning Atiku’s motion to present new evidence related to alleged forged documents.
Chris Uche, the legal representative for Atiku Abubakar, implored the court to approve the motion, entertain their appeal, grant the requested prayers, and disqualify Tinubu.
In contrast, legal representatives for the Respondents, including Abubakar Mahmoud for INEC, Wole Olanipekun for President Tinubu, and Akin Olujinmi for the APC, urged the court to reject both the motion and the appeal, citing a lack of merit.
Upon reconvening, the Court addressed the appeal brought forward by the Allied Peoples Movement, which was encouraged to withdraw its appeal due to the absence of specific prayer for resolution.
Machukwu Umeh, the legal representative for the APM, subsequently opted to withdraw the appeal.
The Respondents did not raise any objections to this withdrawal, and as a result, the Apex court proceeded to dismiss the appeal.