JUST IN: ‘What Will You Gain If You Win?’ — Supreme Court Dismisses APM’s Case Against Tinubu

… Reserves Judgment In Atiku, Obi’s Cases

The Supreme Court has dismissed the application filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) which sought the nullification of President Bola Tinubu’s election for choosing Vice President Kashim Shettima as running mate.

The apex court has also reserved judgment in the applications filed by the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

Recall that the Presidential Election Petitions Court sitting in Abuja had struck out the petition.

The APM had alleged that Kashim Shettima was a senatorial candidate for Borno Central Senatorial District when he accepted to be running mate to President Bola Tinubu.

The APM claimed Tinubu violated the Electoral Act 2022 by nominating Shettima.

It sought an order voiding all the votes garnered by Tinubu over the alleged double nomination of Shettima.

But the lawyers representing the Independent National Electoral Commission, Tinubu, Shettima, All Progressives Congress and Kabiru Masari, raised preliminary objections against the petition.

The PEPC chaired by Justice Haruna Tsammani had struck out the petition, saying a candidate is deemed duly elected if he is a member of a political party and has been sponsored by the party.

Dissatisfied, the APM legal team approached the apex court for final determination.

Tinubu’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN asked the court to strike out the APM’s appeal.

The seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Inyang Okoro observed that the issues sought by APM had been determined by them in a previous case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party against INEC.

The case was ruled against the PDP at the time.

“What will you gain if you win this appeal,” Justice Okoro asked APM’s legal team, to which they eventually withdrew the case.

The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed APM’s case.

On the applications filed by Atiku and Obi’s legal team, the Supreme Court asked them if the 1999 Constitution was superior to the Electoral Act.

The appellants all maintained that there was substantial non-compliance to relevant laws in Nigeria.

During the judgement, the Supreme Court will also rule on pending applications, including the application of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, to present fresh documents to support his appeal against Tinubu.