The Supreme Court has struck out an appeal filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate Atiku Abubakar against President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the February 23, presidential election.
A seven man panel of the court, headed by Justice Tanko Ibrahim Mohammed, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, on Wednesday, October 30, subsequently upheld President Buhari as winner of the poll.
The panel in a unanimous judgement said there is no merit in the appeal. Atiku had gone to the apex court to challenge the September 11 judgment of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which affirmed President Buhari’s victory at the polls.
Earlier, Justice Tanko Muhammad, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), became the head of the seven-man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court. Tanko’s assumption of the panel came after the appeal the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, filed to challenge President Buhari’s re-election.
The Herald gathered that the other members of the panel are Rhodes Bode-Vivour, Olukayode Ariwola, Inyang Okoro, Amiru Sanusi, Uwani Abajji and Ejembi Eko.
It was learnt that the panel that began sitting around 9 am, have commenced hearing on the appeal. The appeal is seeking to set aside the September 11 judgement of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that affirmed Buhari as the valid winner of the presidential contest that held on February 23.
Meanwhile, The Herald reported that the CUPP cried out that Supreme Court went into an evil alliance with ruling APC against the appeal filed by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, over the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
CUPP which on Tuesday, October 15, made this claim, alleged that there was a plan to alter the order of seniority which is used in appointing Supreme Court justices that sit on presidential appeal since 1979.
The coalition said it was suprising that both the apex court and the APC descended heavily on it for alerting Nigerians on the issue of appointment.