President Bola Tinubu has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, challenging the February 25 election.
In his reply, Tinubu’s lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN) asked the apex court to dismiss Atiku’s appeal for abuse of court process.
He also argued that it is lacking in merit and bona fide, adding that he had only sought to reliefs targeted at the president without canvassing issues that would benefit them in their final written address.
“The logical conclusion from this approbative and reprobative posture of the appellants is that deep down in their hearts, they are convinced that the respondent won the election, but have decided to embark on this voyage of abuse of court process,” he said.
“Everything put together or summarized, this appeal is a further demonstration of the abusive nature to which the appellants have subjected court processes. The Supreme Court is urged to dismiss it.”
Atiku had in his appeal asked the apex court to overturn the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Court for being perverse in its conclusion that he failed to prove the allegations of irregularities, malpractices, non-compliance with the electoral laws and guidelines.
Besides, Atiku had filed fresh evidence alleging forgery of the academic diploma of Tinubu from the Chicago State University to assert that he was not qualified to contest the election under Section 137 of the Nigerian Constitution.
