Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the opposition’s legal challenges to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s election victory, affirming his mandate following the final legal appeal.
A seven-judge panel unanimously concluded that the opposition’s appeals, which included allegations of fraud, violations of electoral laws, and claims of Tinubu’s presidential eligibility, lacked merit.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, secured 37 percent of the vote in February, emerging victorious over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi. This election was among the most closely contested in Nigeria’s modern history.
“Having resolved all the issues against the appellant, it is my view that there is no merit in this appeal and it is hereby dismissed,” Justice John Inyang Okoro said of PDP’s appeal in a ruling broadcast live on television.
The panel also dismissed the motion put forward by the Labour Party against Tinubu.
The election appeals court had previously, last month, dismissed the two primary petitions filed by the main opposition parties. These petitions included allegations of fraud, violations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and claims that Tinubu did not meet the constitutional prerequisites for the presidency.
