Atiku, Obi played to gallery, argued cases on social media – Prof. Yadudu

Foremost Constitutional Lawyer, Prof. Auwalu  Yadudu, has said he was not surprised that the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) and affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu. 

Yadudu said the opposition candidates – Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of Labour Party – argued their cases on social media and put forward “flimsy” defences before the justices of the lower Court and the Supreme Court.

Yadudu in a chat with our correspondent in Lagos when he attended the wedding Fatiha of son of the former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Hamisu Yadudu, said the lower court had earlier given a judgement that cannot be faulted in the petitions filed by both Atiku and Obi.

Recall that the Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the victory of Tinubu and dismissed the appeals of Atiku and Obi challenging the judgement of the lower court which upheld Tinubu’s victory in the February 2023 Presidential election.

However, the legal luminary stressed that the judgements of both the Court of Appeal acting as the Tribunal and the Apex Court were truly unassailable.

He said, “When the Presidential Tribunal gave its verdict, my response was that they gave a very sound judgement, they gave good reasons why the judgement cannot be faulted. I described it rather mildly that it would be difficult to fault that judgement.

“I am happy that the Supreme Court not only found the judgement to be faultless, but I think the judgement was unassailable. Basically, what has happened was that almost all the issues that the two petitioners raised were really hot issues, they played to the gallery, they argued their cases on the social media, over TV programmes. In terms of real challenge to the outcome of the election, the defences or the arguments they put forward were really very flimsy.

“I am not surprised that the Supreme Court found the judgement of the Presidential Tribunal unassailable, that was their word.”

Prof. Yadudu also spoke on the comments of the retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Musa Dattijo Mohammed who critised nepotism in the judiciary and raised other issues said the retired judge who had maintained his demeanour over the decades as a serving judge spoke his mind.

On the absolute power the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) wields in the appointment of Justices, in promotion of Lawyers to the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and appointment in the Federal Judicial Service Commission as raised by the retired Justice, he stated that there has to be a “hard look” on provisions of the constitution which give enormous power to the CJN.

According to him, the retired Justice was justified especially in his comment on the delay in filling vacancies in the Supreme Court.

“In my view, all I suggest is that we should have a look at those issues he has raised, don’t brush them aside. He is not taking a personal issue on the incumbent CJN but he is raising issues that require some attention,” he added.