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A number of protesters stormed the appeal court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, where the petitions against the currently held presidential elections are heard, to express their concern about the outcome of the election result. However, the protesters were restrained from gaining entrance to the court by security guards
A number of protesters stormed the appeal court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, where the petitions against the currently held presidential elections are heard, to express their concern about the outcome of the election result. However, the protesters were restrained from gaining entrance to the court by security guards.
There are widespread criticisms on how the elections were held. However, international analysts and observers said that it was conducted in a better way than the earlier elections; but concurred that there were procedural lapses. The presidential elections, which were held on February 25 used technology to relay the election results from polling stations to the central office, which caused delays and gave rise to allegations that the results were manipulated.
A panel of five Nigerian judges sat for a pre-hearing session in the trial. Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of military rule. Elections have always ended up in court. But the court has so far not overruled the results. As reported by www.trendsnafrica.com, petitions were filed in the court of appeal in March against the win of Bola Tinubu by several presidential candidates including the main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar who came second, and the newcomer Labour Party leader Peter Obi who came third.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/nigerian-elections-suspense-over-outcome-continues/
https://trendsnafrica.com/nigerian-elections-analysts-keep-fingers-crossed-on-outcome/
https://trendsnafrica.com/nigerian-presidential-elections-a-sham-or-a-trendsetter-2/
The court of appeal can take 180 days from when the petitions were filed to issue a judgment. The decision, then, can be appealed at the supreme court. Both Abubakar and Peter Obi are making claims that they had won the elections held on February 25. Both have alleged that non-compliance with electoral laws and corrupt practices are the major reasons for declaring the elections null and void. Also, there was an allegation aired by Abubakar, that Tinubu failed to score the legal threshold of 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory. The president-elect has denied the charge of the opposition of electoral fraud and appealed for unity. His party is also solidly backing him.
