According to reliable sources, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has enlisted the services of at least nine Senior Advocates of Nigeria to defend its actions during the 2023 presidential election. The team will be headed by Mr. Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN), a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President. Other members of the team include Stephen Adehi (SAN), Oluwakemi Pinheiro (SAN), Miannaya Essien (SAN), and Abdullahi Aliyu (SAN).
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Additionally, four Senior Advocates of Nigeria who work in INEC’s Legal Department will also join the legal team, alongside Garba Hassan, Musa Attah, and Patricia Obi. It should be noted that on March 1, 2023, INEC declared Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Nigerian presidential election by INEC, with a total of 8,794,726 votes and over 25% of the votes cast in 30 states. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP placed second with 6,984,520 votes, followed by Mr. Peter Obi of the LP with 6,101,533 votes, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP with 1,496,687 votes. However, Atiku and Obi have filed petitions challenging the results and alleging irregularities in the election.
Obi’s petition specifically accuses Tinubu of not being duly elected by the majority of lawful votes and alleges rigging in 11 states, including Rivers, Lagos, Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Imo, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau, and other states in Nigeria. The petition aims to demonstrate that Tinubu’s votes did not comply with legitimate processes for the computation of results, and that the petitioners were disfavoured in these states. It is worth noting that several observers have criticized the election for being marred by irregularities.
Obi and the LP have accused INEC of violating its own regulations by announcing the election results before all polling unit results were fully scanned, uploaded, and transmitted electronically, as required by the Electoral Act. They have also prayed that the tribunal declare Tinubu and Shettima unqualified to contest the election and discountenance all votes credited to Tinubu.
The petitioners are also asking the tribunal to declare Obi as the winner of the election based on the remaining votes and constitutional requirements, or to cancel the election and compel INEC to conduct a fresh election in which Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC shall not participate. However, Tinubu’s camp maintains that he won the election fairly.
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