In the ongoing saga of the Atiku-Tinubu case, the Supreme Court has put a suspenseful twist in the plot. They’ve held off delivering their judgment on the appeal brought by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Presidential Election Petition Court’s ruling that confirmed President Bola Tinubu’s presidential victory.
But that’s not all. The court also had its say on the appeal by the Labour Party (LP), giving it a nod, and on the other hand, waving goodbye to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). So, LP gets a shot, and APM is out of the game.
A distinguished seven-member panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, made this announcement on a Monday. It seems they like to keep us on our toes. They took in all the arguments from the lawyers representing the parties, and even threw in a motion filed by Atiku to supply fresh evidence on some alleged forged documents.
Atiku’s counsel, Mr. Chris Uche, made quite the plea, asking the court to grant their motion, accept their appeal, fulfill their prayers, and possibly disqualify Tinubu. On the other side, counsel to the Respondents, Abubakar Mahmoud for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Wole Olanipekun for President Tinubu, and Akin Olujinmi for the All Progressives Congress (APC) told the court to dismiss the motion and appeal since they believed it lacked merit.
We then witnessed the APM’s appeal taking a sudden exit. They decided to withdraw their appeal because it didn’t really have any clear objectives. Their counsel, Machukwu Umeh, waved the white flag, and nobody seemed to object. So, APM left the stage, perhaps realizing that the real legal showdown is between Atiku and Tinubu, with Peter Obi also in the mix. APM seemed to be just looking for attention.
Now, here we are, left wondering: will the Supreme Court’s judgment be any different from the Court of Appeal? The drama continues, and we’re eagerly waiting to see how this cliffhanger unfolds.
