A Nigerian appellate court on Wednesday rejected the challenges brought forth by two opposition parties regarding the results of the February presidential election that brought Bola Ahmed Tinubu to power, who has been in office since May.
After months of legal debates in the courtroom, Mr. Tinubu was officially recognized by the five-member jury as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Wednesday. The tribunal, presided over by Haruna Tsamman, declared that the petitions filed by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) to contest the results of the presidential election were “completely without merit.”
The judge stated that the opposition’s claims “are hereby dismissed,” and Mr. Tinubu was declared the winner of the presidential election. However, the petitioners still have the option to appeal to the Supreme Court, according to their lawyers. Security has been heightened around the Supreme Court in the Nigerian capital, with police and defense forces setting up roadblocks to secure the premises. Since Nigeria’s return to democracy after military rule in 1999, no court has nullified a presidential election.
