**Date**: September 3, 2023
*Nigeria*:
Election petitions tribunals across Nigeria are set to deliver their verdicts on cases stemming from the 2023 presidential, governorship, and National and state assembly elections. A significant case in the spotlight is the election petition brought by Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party against President Bola Tinubu of the APC.
The presidential election petition tribunal has reserved judgment after Atiku and Obi concluded their cases in June, presenting 40 out of 150 listed witnesses in their petitions challenging Tinubu’s victory at the polls. While Tinubu’s legal team expressed optimism for a favorable outcome, Atiku’s team called on the tribunal to “shun executive intimidation and dispense judgment on the matter.”
Furthermore, election results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are being contested in at least 25 of the 28 states where polls were conducted.
The Constitution of Nigeria (1999) in Section 285(6) stipulates that “an election tribunal shall deliver judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of filing of the petition.” According to this constitutional provision, the deadline for delivering judgment on the presidential election is September 16, 2023, and September 30, 2023, for governorship elections. However, it remains uncertain whether the tribunals will declare their judgments on or before these dates.
While many Nigerians eagerly await the verdicts, there appears to be no undue pressure within the political parties. The APC’s director of publicity, Bala Ibrahim, expressed confidence that justice would be served, stating that the ruling party had already delivered. Meanwhile, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), a member of Atiku’s legal team, called on the tribunal to dispense justice and urged it to remain independent amid public scrutiny.
