President Bola Tinubu has requested the Supreme Court to reject the application by the People’s Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to introduce new evidence in his appeal aimed at overturning the presidential election.
Recall his request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records has since been granted.
Atiku is currently seeking the admission of these documents in the apex court.
In his reply to the primary appeal, Tinubu argued that the claim of certificate forgery had not been initially raised in Abubakar’s submission to the tribunal.
Tinubu argued that Abubakar’s recently granted application in a US court is “alien” to the ongoing appeal before the Supreme Court.
He said, “Appellants’ submission under paragraph 6.45 of their brief further exposes the entire attitude of the appellants before the lower court, that is the attitude of first filing a petition and then fishing for evidence during the pendency of the petition and even up to the point of appeal to this honourable court.
“Without prejudice to our objection to this issue, we submit that the arguments regarding a purported ‘Case No. 1:23-CV05009-th Re Application of Atiku for an Order Directing Discovery from Chicago State University’ is alien to these proceedings, does not arise from the record or the judgment of the lower court and cannot be countenanced by this honourable court and we urge the court to so hold.
“In the final analysis, it is our humble prayer that this honourable court resolves this issue in favour of the respondents and against the appellants.”
In addition, President Tinubu emphasized that the entire appeal is devoid of merit and should be dismissed.
The President characterized the appeal as being abusive and requested its dismissal.
He implored the highest court to uphold the lower court’s ruling and reject the appeal entirely, citing its lack of merit and good faith.
Earlier, Atiku and the PDP submitted a petition contesting the results of the presidential election that took place on February 25, 2023.
In addition to various other issues, the petitioners claimed that the election suffered from irregularities and substantial violations of the Electoral Act.
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, however, in its decision dated September 6, determined that Atiku had not successfully demonstrated the veracity of the claims made in his petition.
The PDP candidate subsequently filed an appeal before the apex court on September 18, 2023. Also, Atiku is praying the court accepts the new evidence granted to him by the Chicago State University on the controversial Tinubu’s academic record, alleging that the result was forged and that alone is a ground for Tinubu’s disqualification.
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