Tunji Wusu –
Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, has arrived at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja for the hearing of his complaint contesting President Bola Tinubu’s victory on Tuesday.
Atiku arrived at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, accompanied by the PDP’s interim National Chairman, Umar Damagun, and other party veterans.
The petitioners’ final written addresses will be adopted at the hearing on Tuesday.
The hearings will bring to a conclusion a three-month court battle between Atiku, Mr Tinubu, and his All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as Nigeria’s electoral authority, INEC.
Following the approval of addresses, the next hearing will be for judgment.
Through his plea, Atiku urged the five-member panel chaired by Haruna Tsammani to reverse Mr Tinubu’s victory due to alleged electoral malpractices during the presidential election on February 25.
He further accused Mr Tinubu of faking his academic records from Chicago State University, as well as forfeiting $4,600 in alleged drug trafficking in the United States.
In his defense, Mr Tinubu claimed that he had never been convicted of a crime in the United States.
The president presented a document from the US embassy in Nigeria clearing him of any charges or convictions in the United States.
To support his case, he also produced his academic records from Chicago State University.