Legal experts commend Supreme Court judgement upholding Tinubu’s victory

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu on Thursday has generated a mixbag of  responses from Nigerians. Some are in support of the apex court’s affirmation, others are against it, and yet others less concerned.

BusinessDay reached out to legal experts to offer their insight about the judgement.

Speaking first on the matter was Ekpu Ambrose, a professor of law at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. Ekpu commended the Supreme Court for taking the bold step to pronounce its judgement. Especially as they refused to be influenced by the pressure from the media and other external influences.

Ambrose said, “For me, it was not expected because normally we follow strictly the law, but for the lay people, we call it technicality, but in this matter, I think that the Supreme Court is following the law, particularly the constitution—the timeline for certain things to be done.”

Read also:S’Court verdict: Sanwo urges opposition to join forces with Tinubu

He advised that Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party “ should just embrace the decision of the court and look forward to the next opportunity for a contest.”

Mansur Ibrahim Sa’Id, a professor of law at the Department of Islamic Law at Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, also commended the Supreme Court judges for sticking to making their judgement based on the available evidence and not bowing to pressure from the plaintiffs, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

Mansur said, “There are at least 10 issues being decided: the issue of certificate forgery, the issue of not uploading the result into the INEC server, the issue of whether he has committed perjury, and also the issue of 25 percent of FCT residents and the issue of fresh evidence that they wanted the court to admit.

“These are the only issues that the Supreme Court decided on, and I didn’t expect anything less.

“The judgement was expected. First of all, the lawyers of Atiku should know that whatever you have should be consolidated in your petition, and everything that you want to happen must be submitted. If you want any fresh evidence to be included, that should be sent within 21 days. That was not done. They know it, and they should have advised their client.”