Supreme Court Dismisses Obi’s Appeal Against Tinubu

The Supreme Court of the nation has dismissed the appeal brought forth by Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the general election, challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu.  Obi had alleged various issues, including Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s alleged double nomination, which he argued rendered Shettima unqualified to serve as Tinubu’s running mate. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the matter of double nomination had already been addressed in a prior judgment and could not be revisited.  The court stated, “This appeal lacks merit and is hereby dismissed.” The appeal by Obi consisted of seven issues, but the head of the seven-member panel of judges, Inyang Okoro, noted that issues 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 had already been addressed in a previous ruling related to Atiku Abubakar’s appeal.  Atiku Abubakar was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his appeal had also been dismissed by the court. As a result, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the tribunal, affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Supreme Court Dismisses Atiku’s Appeal Against Tinubu 

*Says Appeal Lacks Merit, Affirms Tinubu’s Victory  The Supreme Court, on Thursday dismissed the appeal by former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, seeking to nullify the February 25, presidential election of President Bola Tinubu. In the notice of appeal, Atiku had urged the apex court to dismiss and set aside the  September 6, judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which affirmed the victory President Tinubu.  Determining the first issue for determination, held that failure to transmit election results electronically did not affect the outcome of the election and could not warrant the nullification of presidential election.  It held that Atiku did not produce alternative results of the presidential election that showed he won majority number of votes cast to rebuff the one declared by INEC. All the 7 issues distilled for determination were resolved in favour of Tinubu, stating that the appeal lacked merit.

Supreme Court Dismisses APM’s Appeal Against Tinubu

The Supreme Court, Monday, dismissed an appeal by the Allied People’s Movement (APM)seeking to disqualify President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.   APM had asked the Supreme Court to hold that the Court of Appeal misconceived the material facts before it, when it struck out its undefended petition against Tinubu’s victory. It prayed the court to hold that the withdrawal of Kabiru Masari from the race by operation of law amounted to automatic withdrawal and invalidation of the candidate of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress in the February 25, presidential election.  In its brief of arguments, APM, through its counsel Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), that the Court of Appeal wrongly and peremptorily struck out the petition.  It therefore prayed the apex court to set aside the decision of the lower court. APM also said the striking out of Kabiru Masari’s name from its petition and consequent dismissal of the petition on 6th September 2023, was in error, as Masari was a necessary party to the dispute. The Court of Appeal had dismissed APM’s petition based on pre hearing motions filed by INEC, APC and Shettima but only INEC tendered a document during the hearing while APC, Tinubu and Shettima and INEC did not call any witness. According to APM, “the grounds upon which it’s petition was predicated is that the 3rd respondent (Tinubu) was at the time of the election (February 25 2023) not qualified to contest the election in line with Section 134(1)(a) of the electoral Act, 2022. The party said it clearly stated in its paragraph 16 and 17 of the petition that it was against 3rd and 4th respondents (Tinubu and Shettima) respectively and  grounded on the provisions of Section 131 and 142 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 35 of the Electoral Act,2022. The APM lawyer said the Court of Appeal misconceived the material facts and case of the appellant and wrongly progressed to determine issues not contemplated by the appellant’s petition and erroneously dismissed the petition. Hearing the appeal on Monday, effort by Machukwu Ume, to move the appeal was rejected by the panel, as doing so would amount to wasting of the precious time of the court. The presiding Justice, Inyang Okoro had insisted that the appeal be withdrawn since the issue had been decided.  “We have read your appeal and issues raised.   “You are not asking us to make your candidate the President if the your appeal succeeds.  “You just want to state the law and go home, without benefit. We have other appeals that are substantial and withdrawing this appeal will help reduce the workload on us.  “We have read the appeal and are unanimous that it’s a none issue, having been pronounced upon by this court” Justice Inyang Okoro said. Left with no option, the APM counsel hesitantly accepted withdrawal of the appeal. All the Respondents did not oppose the withdrawal and did not ask for cost.  Accordingly, the panel dismissed the APM appeal, same having been withdrawn.

Tinubu Tells Supreme Court To Dismiss Atiku’s Appeal 

President Bola Tinubu, who contested as the presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, has officially requested the Supreme Court to reject the appeal filed by Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition party.  Tinubu’s response, which was presented by his legal team, comes in response to Atiku’s notice of appeal. This move follows the prior judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on September 6, which dismissed Atiku’s petition challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.  The tribunal cited Atiku’s failure to substantiate the claims in his petition and concluded that his case lacked merit. Atiku subsequently filed a notice of appeal with 35 grounds before the Supreme Court on September 18, seeking to have the tribunal’s findings and conclusions overturned.  He argued that the tribunal had made “grave errors and gross misrepresentations” that resulted in a miscarriage of justice. In his response, President Tinubu maintained that the presidential election petition tribunal had rightfully reached its verdict and upheld his election. He emphasized that the appellants had failed to substantiate their allegations and provide any compelling reason for the apex court to overturn the lower court’s findings. Tinubu also characterized Atiku’s appeal as “abusive in nature” and urged the Supreme Court to dismiss it.  He stated that the appeal lacked merit and bona fide and urged the court to affirm the lower court’s decision.  The legal battle continues as both parties await the Supreme Court’s decision.

I’ll Appeal Tribunal Judgement Sacking Me, Says Gov Sule

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state says he will appeal the judgement of the Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal that invalidated his victory in the March 18 election on Monday. He acknowledged the tribunal’s decision as a temporary setback and expressed a commitment to learn from it and come back stronger. Governor Sule maintained that he remains in office until the Supreme Court decides otherwise, citing his legal right to appeal. He urged his supporters to remain calm and discouraged them from engaging in street protests or responding to opposition, especially on social media. The tribunal’s split judgment annulled Governor Sule’s election as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the rightful winner. Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, the tribunal’s chairman, read the majority judgment in favor of David Ombugadu. Justice Chiemelie Onaga, another panel member, supported the lead judgment. Justice Ibrahim Mashi delivered the dissenting judgment, dismissing the petition filed by the PDP candidate and upholding Governor Sule’s declaration by the INEC.

Allow us access banks’ autonomous window, BDCs appeal to CBN

President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadebe has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately leverage the BDCs by allowing them access banks’ autonomous window and agency of international money transfer operators. This, he said, will allow them to provide liquidity in the retail end of the foreign exchange market and help stop the free fall of the Naira occasioned by forex scarcity in the country. Gwadebe also urged the CBN to reinstate its 2015 policy guidelines which allow the BDCs to effectively provide liquidity in the retail end of the market through the forex windows. The 2015 policy guidelines allow the BDC operators to access foreign exchange from the autonomous window of the commercial banks as well as act as agents for diaspora remittances. Gwadebe in his statement said BDCs are effective tools of the transmission mechanism of the CBN. “I quickly want to advise the apex bank to leverage on the BDCs and allow them access banks’ autonomous window and agency of international money transfer operators. Gwadebe, who accused some of the International Money Transfer Organizations (IMTOs) of diverting diaspora remittances, said the commercial banks revealed that they don’t even see most of these remittances. “Imagine you are the IMTO and then you are the one that will pay the beneficiary the naira, invariably, then I as well just give you the naira without paying you the dollar.’’ “Even the banks have been saying that they are not seeing the diaspora remittances that the fintechs have taken over. We had a meeting with the banks where we even tried to bring up the issue of diaspora remittances so that we can harness it and bring liquidity, but they said they don’t see it. That’s the truth of the matter, a lot of unlicensed online firms are in the process.’’ The black market rate fell to as low as N950/$1 last week, opening up about N200 disparity with the I&E window as demand continued to outstrip supply. Meanwhile, the official rate averaged N765/$1.

Lamido’s N712m Money Laundering Case: HEDA hails EFCC’s appeal

Anti-corrupt group, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on its appeal of the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja judicial division. The Court discharged the former Governor of Jigawa State, Alh. Sule Lamido and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha Lamido of corruption and money laundering charges on the grounds that the prosecution had filed the charge at the wrong judicial division of the Federal High Court. Earlier, the EFCC had charged the former Governor and his two sons with money laundering offenses at the Abuja judicial division. After presenting six witnesses, the anti-graft agency closed its case, and the defendants subsequently filed a no-case submission. However, Justice Ojukwu of the Federal High Court dismissed the no-case submission, ruling that the defendants had a case to answer. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the defendants decided to appeal to the Court of Appeal. A panel of three jurists, led by Hon. Justice Adamu Waziri, reviewed the case and concluded that the money laundering charge should have been filed in Jigawa State, where the alleged offenses were committed. Based on this finding, the Court of Appeal discharged the defendants. In response to the judgment, HEDA Resource Centre’s Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, expressed concerns, citing a precedent set by the Supreme Court in the case of Dele Belgore. In the Belgore case, the Supreme Court also overturned a no-case submission ruling by the Federal High Court. However, unlike the Lamido case, the Supreme Court ordered the case to be re-filed and prosecuted in the appropriate judicial division, which was Kwara State. Suraju also highlighted another relevant case, that of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu & Ors, wherein the Supreme Court overturned the judgment of the Federal High Court due to jurisdictional issues. In that case, the Supreme Court ordered a re-trial of the defendants, instead of discharging them. He stressed that an appellant whose appeal is based on an application or an interlocutory appeal, and not on the final judgment of the trial court, should not be discharged by the appellate court. Such discharges could set a wrong precedent, suggesting that technical errors may lead to acquittal. Suraju therefore called on the EFCC, as the prosecutor, to pursue further appeal at the Supreme Court. He emphasized that Nigerians cannot afford a precedent that fails to ensure consequences for money laundering, corruption, and misappropriation of public funds. The EFCC’s response and the potential implications of further appeal will be closely watched, as the case involves high-profile individuals and raises important questions about the judicial process surrounding corruption cases in Nigeria.

Give Tinubu benefit of doubt, Uwaleke appeals to Nigerians

Professor of Finance and the Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University, Uche Uwaleke, has called on Nigerians to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the benefit of the doubt. The President had in a nationwide broadcast on Monday in Abuja, reeled out a number of measures meant to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. In his inauguration speech, the President said fuel subsidy was gone forever. According to him, his administration would rather channel the savings from the subsidy removal into other critical sectors of the economy. In his broadcast, the President said his administration has proposed the sum of N75 billion to fund enterprises at 9% interest per annum; N125 billion to energize MSME; release 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains; 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer,  seedlings, and other inputs to farmers; and N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize. Also, the federal government will also make available N50 billion each to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava, N100 billion to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses and review the minimum wage. Uwaleke said: “The President’s address to the nation is quite soothing. “He spoke in clear terms and I think Nigerians should allow him the benefit of the doubt.” The first Professor of the Capital Market in Nigeria was however concerned that President Tinubu failed to tell Nigerians how the executive will also make sacrifices. “But it was short on how the three arms of government will share in the pains of the governed, especially with respect to affecting a significant cut in the cost of running government,” he asked.