Hopes by Nigeria’s major opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar to be declared winner of the February 23 presidential poll against incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari have been dashed by the Supreme Court which on Wednesday dismissed his appeal and that of his party.
The seven-man panel of the highest court in the country led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Mohammed said there was no merit in the appeal by Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party hence its dismissal in a three-sentence judgement which put paid to the legal dispute over the poll.
Chief Judge Mohammed said the reasons for the decision of the highest court would be made known on a date to be announced.
He disclosed that he and members of the panel had read all the documents and exhibits filed in the case for two weeks and found the appeal to be lacking in merit.
Abubakar, who is popularly known by his first name Atiku and his party had gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the September 11 judgment of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which affirmed President Buhari’s victory at the polls.
The judgement which was unanimously consented to by the other six members of the panel came less than an hour after the court took arguments on the appeal.