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After 12-Hour Marathon Judgment, Tribunal Dismisses Obi, Atiku’s Petitions, Affirms Tinubu’s Victory [PHOTOS/VIDEOS]

Published

3 years ago

September 6, 2023

The Presidential Election Petitions Court delivered a 12-hour marathon judgment on Wednesday, throwing out the petitions of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM); the petitions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar; as well as the petitions of Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The Tribunal dismissed the petitions of the three parties challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 poll.

The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani did not only dismiss the consolidated petitions of the PDP, the APM and the LP, the panel also clearly affirmed the victory of Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, in the presidential poll.

Justice Tsammani said, “This petition accordingly lacks merit. I affirm the return of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are to bear their cost.”

After much anticipation, the Tribunal delivered its judgment at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, a proceeding that was televised live from 9am to minutes past 9pm.

Some of the notable persons present at the proceeding crowded by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) include Vice-President Kashim Shettima of the APC, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila; and LP’s Julius Abure, among others.

Scene during the proceeding of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja where judgements were delivered on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. (Photo: Taiwo Adeshina/Channels TV)

Significantly, Obi and Atiku whom had observed previous proceedings of the Tribunal, were not in court on Wednesday. Tinubu was also not in court as he is away in India for the G-20 summit.

The Tribunal first delivered its verdict on the petitions of the APM, followed by the LP and the PDP.

Court Strikes Out APM’s Suit
In the case of the APM, the Tribunal dismissed the suit of the party seeking to nullify Tinubu’s election for lacking in merit and being incompetent.

The moment the Presidential Election Petitions Court affirmed Bola Tinubu as Nigeria's duly elected president.#PEPTJudgement #PEPTVerdict #PresidentialTribunal #CTVTweets pic.twitter.com/Xgo0t8f6eW
— Channels Television (@channelstv) September 6, 2023
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Justice Tsammani, who read the judgment, held that issues the APM raised in its petition contained pre-election matters that could only be determined by the Federal High Court.

Scene during the proceeding of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja where judgements were delivered on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. (Photo: Taiwo Adeshina/Channels TV)

The court further upheld the preliminary objections of the respondents who challenged the competence of the suit.

Justice Tsammani noted that since the petition centred on the qualification of Tinubu to contest the presidential election, the APM ought to have gone to court within 14 days after Tinubu was nominated by the APC.

He held that since the cause of action bordered on a pre-election matter, the APM lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s nomination.

Furthermore, the court held that the Supreme Court had earlier decided that a political party does not have the right to challenge a nomination that was made by another political party.

The court noted that the main grouse of the APM was on the alleged invalid nomination of Tinubu’s then running mate, Shettima.

He further held that Section 84(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, stipulates that political parties should not impose qualification criteria on a candidate, except as provided for in the constitution.

It held that where an election has already been conducted and the result declared, the qualification of a candidate could no longer be challenged on the basis of sections 131 and 137 of the Constitution.

‘INEC At Liberty To Prescribe Mode Of Results Transmission’

The Tribunal moved to the petitions of the Labour Party and ruled that the LP’s petition of irregularities in the 2023 presidential election was generic.

The court ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was at liberty to decide the mode of transmission of election results during the presidential election on February 25, 2023.

The Tribunal shut down Senior Advocate Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan for interrupting court judgement.#PEPTJudgement #PEPTVerdict #CTVTweets #PresidentialTribunal pic.twitter.com/pjKqzbHsEu
— Channels Television (@channelstv) September 6, 2023

The panel said according to Sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC was at liberty to prescribe the manner in which election results were transmitted during the poll.

The Tribunal consequently dismissed the petition of the LP and Obi, which argued that the victory of Tinubu be annulled on the basis on the “failure” of the commission’s Results Viewing Portal (IReV) to upload election results electronically in real time.

The Tribunal also dismissed Obi and LP’s petitions on 25 per cent votes of Tinubu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saying that Abuja is like other states.

The court said the Electoral Act 2022 made no provision for electronic transmission of election results.

The five-man panel, said the only technological device that was mandatory for INEC to use for the election is the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

Still on the issue of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC Regulations and Guidelines, Justice Tsammani said there is nothing in the regulation to show that the BVAS must electronically transmit polling units’ results.

The Tribunal also held that the commission’s Results Viewing Portal (IReV) is not a collation system and the judgment in the case of Oyetola Vs INEC clearly supports this.

“There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022,” says Justice Tsammani. “It is at best optional.”

‘Obi Failed To Prove INEC Refused To Promptly Upload Results Online’

Furthermore, the Tribunal ruled that the Labour Party and Obi failed to establish that INEC deliberately refused to promptly upload polling unit results to its Results Viewing Portal (IReV) in order to manipulate the results in favour of Tinubu of APC.

“The petitioner made the allegation of non-compliance a substantial part of their case. By the provisions of Section 135(2) of the Electoral Act, they are required to show how such non-compliance substantially affected them. If they fail to show same, the petition fails.”

The petitioner also made allegations of suppression of results, overvoting and inflation of votes when they said that from the totality of the evidence, the elections are invalid by reason of corrupt practices.

‘Obi, LP Failed To Prove Tinubu Was Convicted For Money Laundering’
In addition, the Tribunal ruled that the Labour Party Obi failed to prove that Tinubu was convicted for money laundering in the United States.

The panel ruled that no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Tinubu by the petitioners – Obi and the LP.

Tinubu had allegedly forfeited $460,000 in the US over three decades ago and the petitioners alleged that he was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

However, the Tribunal ruled that no criminal charge was filed against Tinubu in the US and that the APC candidate did not go through a criminal trial in America.

The Tribunal said the petitioners failed to prove that the allegation at the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division where the forfeiture occurred was a criminal case.

Justice Tsammani said the ex-governor of Lagos State was not convicted of any crime or any criminal activity and no sentence of imprisonment or fine was imposed on him.

He said according to Section 137 of the constitution, Tinubu is not disqualified from contesting the presidential poll.

‘Atiku’s dual Citizenship Petition Against Tinubu Struck Out’

Moving on to the PDP and Atiku, the Tribunal struck out the petitioners’ case alleging that Tinubu owns dual citizenship and so should be disqualified from the poll.

The panel also struck out the evidence of some of Atiku’s witnesses on the grounds that that their witness statements on oath were not filed along with his petition.

The court also expunged 37 exhibits tendered by the witnesses from the court’s records.

On the issue of dumping of documents on the court, he held that this would only go to the weight to be attached to such evidence.

On the issue of Tinubu’s conviction and the issue of his dual citizenship, the Tribunal again held like it earlier did that this issues were incompetent and liable to be struck out and same were indeed struck out.

On the inability of the election officers to transmit, of the 27 witnesses called by the petitioner, 10 were polling unit agents who testified as to how the elections were conducted in their different polling unit.

All 10 of the witnesses testified that the voting went well and was peaceful in their different polling units but they all said they could not upload results electronically to the portal of INEC, so they entered the results manually and took same to the ward and or state collation center.

The witnesses were emphatic that voting went well, party agents signed the results but the only difficulty was in uploading the results electronically.

The Tribunal strongly stressed that litigation is fought on pleadings, parties swim or sink on their pleadings.

On the allegations that agents of the respondents disrupted the elections, the petitioners said video recordings will be tendered as proof but this was not done.

Issue two was on the 25 percent in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the court simply adopted its earlier decision on the issue.

Issue three was on the qualification of the Tinubu because of the alleged indictment but the petitioners did not place believable evidence before the court.

LP Rejects Tribunal’s Judgments

In a swift reaction, the Labour Party rejected the judgments of the Tribunal.

In a statement after the verdict of the Tribunal on Wednesday, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said justice was not served in the petitions of the party against the APC and Tinubu.

He also said the Labour Party will make its next move known upon consultation with its lawyers after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgments.

The party said the judgment of the court “did not reflect the law and the desire of the people”.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious,” the statement partly read.

“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

“We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria.

“Details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgment is made available to us.”

SOURCE: CHANNEL TV

Headline

FG Summons S. African Envoy Over Rising Xenophobic Attacks On Nigerians

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2026

Editor

The Federal Government has summoned the Acting High Commissioner of South Africa in Abuja over renewed concerns about xenophobic attacks and protests targeting foreign nationals, including Nigerians, living in that country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the envoy is expected at its headquarters on Monday, May 4, 2026, for a high-level engagement aimed at addressing the growing tension and safeguarding bilateral relations between both countries.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Nigeria would formally express its “profound concern” over recent developments in South Africa, particularly reports of harassment, violence, and destruction of property belonging to foreign nationals.

According to the ministry, the meeting will focus on ongoing demonstrations by various groups in South Africa and documented cases of attacks on Nigerians and their businesses in parts of the country.

“The objective of this engagement is to formally convey the Nigerian Government’s profound concern regarding recent events that have the potential to impact the established cordial relations between Nigeria and South Africa,” the statement read.

It added that discussions would also address ongoing demonstrations by various groups within South Africa and documented instances of mistreatment of Nigerian citizens and attacks on their businesses.

The ministry acknowledged growing anger among Nigerians over reports of xenophobic violence but urged restraint, stressing that diplomatic engagement remained the preferred channel for resolution.

It assured Nigerians that the Federal Government was actively engaging South African authorities to ensure the protection of its citizens abroad.

“The Ministry is aware of the growing discontent among Nigerians concerning the treatment of their nationals in South Africa. Nevertheless, it implores the Nigerian public to remain calm and reiterates the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of Nigerian citizens residing in South Africa,” the statement added.

The latest diplomatic move comes amid renewed reports of xenophobic tensions in parts of South Africa, where foreign-owned businesses have occasionally been targeted during protests linked to unemployment and economic hardship.

South Africa has a history of xenophobic violence dating back to 2008, with subsequent flare-ups in 2015 and 2019, when mobs attacked migrants, looted shops, and displaced thousands of foreign nationals across several provinces.

In past incidents, Nigerians and other African nationals were among those affected, prompting strong diplomatic reactions from Abuja and calls for stronger protection of foreign communities.

While South African authorities have repeatedly condemned such attacks and deployed security forces to restore order during outbreaks of violence, concerns have persisted over recurring hostility in some communities.

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Mississippi Man ‘Kills Mother, Flushes Her Remains Down Toilet’

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2026

Editor

A 29-year-old Mississippi man, Zachary Lavel Jackson Jr., has been charged with multiple offences, including first-degree murder, over the death of his mother, Lana Brown Bradley, after deputies responded to her Natchez home on April 4 following a missing person report from relatives.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to Bradley’s residence after her oldest son was unable to reach her the previous day.

Jackson was initially identified as a family member before investigators confirmed he was her son.

Sheriff Travis Patten described the case as deeply disturbing.“This is by far the most heinous crime that I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. We weren’t out there that day; this was one of those things when we walked up.

“This was one of those cases that you will never, ever forget in your life. This is the type of case that follows you home,” Patten told WJTV.

According to the sheriff, deputies noticed signs of a recent cleanup when they arrived at the home.

“As soon as they walked in the house, they could just see where somebody had been cleaning up, and they could smell chemicals all throughout the house.

“Floor was extremely slippery. And the older son said that this is just unusual for the youngest son to be cleaning up the house like that,” Patten explained.

Jackson, the youngest son, was found in a bathroom, where deputies allegedly made a discovery that became central to the investigation.

“I can say what was in the toilet, and it was her flesh. He chopped her up in pieces and dismembered her in a way that whoever came looking for her would have to do their due diligence to find her, and that’s just what we did,” the sheriff said.

Authorities said Jackson allegedly placed parts of his mother’s body in a suitcase and attempted to dispose of other remains.

Jackson faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, mayhem and tampering with evidence.

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Iran Says War With US May Resume As Trump Rejects Proposal

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2026

Editor

Iran’s military has warned that the war with the United States and Israel could resume, declaring that it is fully prepared for any renewed confrontation as tensions between the sides continue to deepen.

In a statement reported by Iranian state-affiliated media, senior military officials said a return to hostilities is “likely”, citing what they described as Washington’s lack of commitment to previous agreements and negotiations.

The warning comes after US President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Iran’s latest peace proposal, saying the terms presented by Tehran included demands he “can’t agree to”.

According to officials in Tehran, Iran believes it showed flexibility during earlier negotiations, including talks held in Islamabad and during the ceasefire period. However, authorities argue that the United States has instead taken a tougher stance, widening the gap between both sides.

Iranian officials insist that key issues such as sanctions relief and the status of the Strait of Hormuz must be resolved before any broader agreement, including discussions around its nuclear programme, can progress. They also reject what they describe as US demands amounting to “surrender”.

The growing diplomatic deadlock has raised fears that another round of fighting may be imminent, with Iranian authorities indicating that preparations are already underway.

Meanwhile, the prolonged conflict continues to have far-reaching consequences within Iran. Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reports that the country has entered its 64th day of near-total internet disruption, effectively isolating it from global online networks.

The shutdown, which began after renewed anti-government protests earlier in the year and intensified following the outbreak of the war, has significantly disrupted businesses and livelihoods across the country.

Beyond Iran, the conflict is also reshaping global dynamics. Rising oil prices linked to the war have placed pressure on international markets, while geopolitical tensions have strained alliances, including between the United States and European partners.

As both sides remain far apart on key issues, analysts warn that without a breakthrough in negotiations, the fragile pause in fighting could collapse, paving the way for renewed military escalation in the region.