Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), which threw his suit as well as those of others challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential polls, out.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Atiku, who was declared the 1st runner-up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said the court judgment failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

The PEPT quashed all the charges against President Bola Tinubu, upholding his victory. However, a large section of Nigerians have decried the judgment – calling it a miscarriage of justice.

Atiku said although he still has respect for the judiciary, the judgment is unacceptable. He said he has asked his lawyers to activate [his] constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court.

“It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate,” he said.

Read his full statement below:

Good afternoon, Gentlemen of the Press.

I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election.

As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25, Presidential Election.

My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.

Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.

The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress. Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgment of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.

Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate.

On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu Yar’Adua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war. We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the Press, I thank you for your attention.

Atiku Abubakar, GCON
Waziri Adamawa
Vice President of Nigeria (1999 – 2007)
2023 PDP Presidential Candidate

The Labour Party (LP) has expressed its disapproval of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s decision, which dismissed the petitions filed by its candidate, Peter Obi, challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential elections.

The PEPT had on Wednesday, quashed all charges filed by the LP and other political parties, challenging Tinubu’s victory. But the LP said in a statement on Wednesday that it rejects the rulings as they did not serve justice or reflect the law and the desires of the people.

“The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani today and we reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety because justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people,” Obiora Ifoh, national publicity secretary of the LP, said in the statement.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious.

“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people’s will prevail.

“We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria.

“Details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgment is made available to us.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential election and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obi the second and third runners-up respectively.

However, both the LP and the PDP filed petitions in March challenging the outcome of the presidential poll.

In their final written address dated July 20, the petitioners reiterated their claim that both Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were not eligible to participate in the election.

The petitioners had contended that Tinubu’s ineligibility stemmed from the forfeiture of $460,000 in the US and his inability to secure 25 percent of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The petitioners also challenged the outcome of the election on the grounds of fraud and electoral malpractices, which they said the INEC had connived with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to perpetrate to rig the election.

The PDP also rejected the judgment, vowing to approach the Supreme Court. The party’s team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche said their client only got a judgment from the court and not justice.

“Judgment has just been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the Constitution has given us the right to go on appeal.

“This is the court of first instance. We still have the right to go on appeal to the Supreme Court and you see, this is a struggle that is not just for our client, but for the Constitution of this country, for the rule of law and democracy.

“We were expecting an outcome that will improve, encourage the use of technology to enhance election management, to enhance transparency, to enhance accountability, so that Nigerians will believe in democracy.

“So that Nigerians can come out in their masses like they did, to vote. We don’t want Nigerians to be discouraged.

“There are certain things and principle of law that he knows that we need to explore and we strongly believe that when we get to the Supreme Court, it will have the opportunity to review a number of things that have been said here today.

“We have the instruction of our client to go to the Supreme Court. So, we have asked for the records. We have asked for the judgment. We are going to apply for the transmission of the records because we have a very limited time to push this.

“So, the struggle continues and as it is said, it is not over until it is over,” the lawyer said.

Many Nigerians agree with the LP and the PDP that the ruling of PEPT is a miscarriage of justice.

However, expressing their lack of trust in the Nigerian judicial system, many have preempted the parties’ decision to appeal the judgments, saying it would likely yield the same result.