Tinubu Survives Atiku’s Legal Onslaught As Supreme Court Rejects CSU Evidence
The Supreme Court on Thursday, October 26, 2023 held that it lacks jurisdiction to admit new evidence provided by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate in the February 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar in the appeal they filed against the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The decision of the apex court therefore granted President Bola Tinubu victory and stopped Atiku from upstaging him from the coveted office of the President of Nigeria.
The Supreme Court in a lead judgement read by Justice John Inyang Okoro out rightly rejected the additional evidence from Chicago State University (CSU), Atiku filed in his appeal before the apex court.
Atiku had filed a motion on notice at the Supreme Court, seeking two orders that included a leave to produce and for the court to receive additional evidence from CSU for use in the appeal he filed against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), which dismissed his election petition against the outcome of the election which affirmed the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The motion on notice contained evidence disclaiming the certificate from CSU presented by President Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 presidential election.
But, the apex Court in a lead judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, rejected the motion on notice, saying that fresh evidence could not be entertained during appeal particularly when it was belated.
The Supreme Court in the judgement read by Justice Okoro specifically said that the Supreme Court cannot activate its Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act after 180 days has lapsed at the lower court, adding that it was an election tribunal that is empowered to determine its judgment within 180 days of filing of petition and therefore the court of appeal lost jurisdiction after 180 days
In the words of Justice Okoro; “I still wonder how the appellants intend to use the evidence in this appeal. The application to file fresh evidence runs foul of the provisions of the Electoral Act that prohibits the amendment of election petition of 21 days of the election petition.
“The Supreme court found as ridiculous the submission of Atiku Counsel that the 180-day rule does not apply to court of appeal sitting on the presidential election petition. The provision of the Constitution has spoken.
“There cannot be an addendum. Appeals are continuation of hearing on matters of the lower court,” he held.
The Supreme Court also held that 25% vote casts in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was not necessary for a presidential candidate to become the President Of Nigeria.
The apex court also rule that there was no evidence to prove that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu forged his certificate just as he also held that the IREV Portal was not a collation system and cannot stop the collation of results which was manually done.
It therefore dismissed Atiku Abubakar’s petition against INEC on the functionality of the IREV Portal, adding that the unavailability of IREV to function was not a ground to cancel an election.
