The attorney for Labour Party Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, has vowed to appeal the decision of the Presidential Petitions Tribunal upholding President Bola Tinubu’s victory.
INEC and the Election
Speaking on Wednesday after the verdict was handed down, he emphasized that litigants who are unhappy with an election’s outcome may turn to self-help if they continue to have a difficult time establishing their case because of challenges from governmental bodies like the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The Tribunal’s Verdict
After that, the challenges filed by Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP disputing Tinubu’s election as president as proclaimed by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023, were unanimously dismissed by the four other justices. The three aggregated petitions of CAPPC/03/2023, CAPPC/04/2023, and CAPPC/05/2023 were dismissed by the Court during the 12-hour session on a number of grounds, including a lack of merit.
Trust in the Judiciary may be lost
He also cautioned that sound electoral law would vanish from the nation if precautions were not taken.
“Our electoral jurisprudence will finally vanish if we are not vigilant. I say this with the utmost sincerity because, when the litigant, when those who challenged the election, find it increasingly difficult to prove their case due to roadblocks beginning with INEC, they may undoubtedly turn to other, potentially illegal, means of obtaining justice.
Live stream During Court Proceeding
The Punch also reported that Barrister Uzoukwu applauded the Court of Appeal for implementing live broadcasting as well. You may remember that we requested that the court allow live broadcasting of all sessions, but the court, in its wisdom, denied our request. But in the end, they realized its wisdom and the necessity of ensuring transparency, which is why the verdict was streamed live. Undoubtedly, it would have been preferable if the entire event had been streamed live so that the general public could witness and fully connect to the ruling. Therefore, I hope and pray that it will be ongoing this time, commencing at the commencement of a case. The best way to ensure transparency, in his opinion, is to make everything transparent so that Nigerians may see it for themselves and decide for themselves.
Impact of the Judgement
Jerrymusa.com reports that the panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, read the decision on Wednesday and stated, “This petition obviously lacks merit. I reaffirm Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election as the legitimate leader of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The costs are to be borne by the parties.