Victor EzejaThe Nigeria Supreme Court has dismissed the application filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar to prove a case of forgery of academic records submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate, Bola Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2023 general elections.
Justice John Inyang Okoro who led the seven-man panel of justices of the Supreme Court, gave the ruling at the ongoing proceeding at the apex court on the appeals filed by Atiku and the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, challenging the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court which upheld the election of Tinubu on February 25.
Atiku had filed an application to be allowed to tender a copy of President Bola Tinubu’s certificate, which he obtained from the Chicago State University, CSU, in the United States of America, USA to prove a case of forgery.
However, the apex court held that the time frame stipulated by the constitution for the admission of this kind of evidence has passed.
It emphasized that the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) was specifically granted a 180-day period to consider and rule in writing on any petitions pertaining to the presidential election by section 285(5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The court ruled that no legal provision would permit the admission of any more evidence during the appeals process, given that the PEPC, which acted as the court of first instance in the presidential dispute, had already rendered its decision.
It stated that the Supreme Court lacked the necessary jurisdiction to admit the document and that the 180 days granted to the tribunal by the Constitution had ended on September 17.
“This court cannot do what the trial court is no longer constitutionally permitted to do,” Justice Okoro held, adding that Atiku and the PDP could no longer invoke the provision of Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act,” Justice Okoro stated in the lead judgement.
The top court further pointed out that Atiku did not raise the question of forgery in any paragraph of his appeal, despite his attempt to prove it with the newly suggested evidence.
It said that the appellants had run out of time to revise their argument since the aggrieved parties’ 21-day window to submit a petition had also passed.
“Therefore, this application is refused and accordingly dismissed,” the Supreme Court held.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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