The hope of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to upturn the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 2023 Presidential Election at the Supreme Court has been crushed as the court dismissed the application of Atiku to present fresh evidence to support his appeal.
Atiku, a presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 Presidential Election had sought the leave of the apex court to submit Tinubu’s credentials obtained from the Chicago State University to prove that the president forged the certificates and other documents he submitted to INEC.
The matter was heard last Monday by a seven-man panel led by Justice John Okoro to determine the admissibility of the fresh documents by Atiku.
After augments and counterarguments for its admissibility of the fresh documents, the court held that admitting the fresh documents would amount to erring the law of the land.
Reading the lead judgment on Thursday, Okoro said the application was filed after the 180 days prescribed by the law lapsed.
Pointing out that the court cannot activate section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to admit fresh evidence, the court stated, “The leave cannot be granted. We do not have the vires to grant it. There is no paragraph in the petition that indicates forgery. It would float on the appeal if it should be admitted. They (petitioners) were tardy and not diligent enough. This does not fit into the determination of this appeal. It is hereby refused and dismissed.”
