Supreme Court Judgement: Nigeria is a Work in Progress – Ozekhome

By Pen Pushers Last updated Oct 27, 2023 59

By, Emmanuel Iriogbe, Abuja.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Counsel to the PDP candidate at the Supreme Court, Mike Ozekhome has described Nigeria as a work in Progress.

He was reacting to the apex court’s judgement in the case filed by Atiku Abubakar against the victory of President Bola Tinubu at the February 25 presidential election.

The Court had earlier given judgement in Tinubu’s favour insisting that issues raised by Atiku and the PDP were not brought forward at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal during trial.

In its unanimous judgement, the Supreme Court affirmed President Tinubu’s victory by dismissing appeals filed by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

The apex court ruled that alleged non-compliance by INEC did not substantially affect the election outcome based on available evidence.

While accepting the verdict, the lawyers for the petitioners expressed reservations about aspects of the judgement but agreed it is legally binding.

Kenneth Okonkwo, who represented Peter Obi of the Labour Party, expressed concerns about the court not addressing the issue of a forfeiture order secured against Tinubu in the United States. He also noted the significant fine imposed on the second respondent in the case.

“That’s why I respectfully disagree even though the decision is final. The Supreme Court has authority to interpret the constitution,” Okonkwo stated.

However, Okonkwo noted the apex court agreed that not uploading results to INEC’s IReV portal reduced public confidence in the election.

“Meaning the election was not as credible as it ought to have been if results were uploaded. Credibility means believable,” he remarked.