Supreme Court Says Tinubu’s Victory Can’t Be Annulled Over Non-Electronic Transmission Of Election Results, Dismisses Issue Of 25 Per Cent Requirement For Abuja

By Babatunde Solanke

The Supreme Court has declared emphatically on Thursday that the failure by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit election results electronically did not affect the outcome of the election and could not warrant the nullification of the result of the presidential election.

Justice John Okoro stated this in a lead judgment on the appeal by former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Atiku Abubakar; and that of the candidate of Labour Party(lp), Peter Obi, seeking to nullify the February 25, presidential election of President Bola Tinubu  of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC).

Okoro also dismissed the issue of the 25 per cent requirement for Abuja, as a non-issue.

At the time of filing this report, the judgment was still ongoing.

Atiku had, in the motion dated October 5, pleaded with the Supreme Court to grant him leave to bring in additional evidence by way of depositions on oath from the Chicago State University for use in his appeal to wit: the certified discovery deposition made by Caleb Westberg on behalf of Chicago State University on October 3, 2023, disclaiming the certificate presented by the 2nd respondent, Tinubu to the INEC.

The 32-page deposition was released to Atiku on the orders of Judge Nancy Maldonado of the District Court of Illinois, Eastern Division, Illinois, United States of America.