Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), will serve on the Supreme Court bench that hears the appeal against the decision of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC).
Remember that on September 6, 2023, PEPC issued a ruling supporting the election of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress on February 25, 2023.
Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the respective presidential contenders for the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, disagreed with the court’s ruling and vowed to appeal it to the Supreme Court.
The apex court’s 14-day window, which is required by the constitution, expires on Wednesday.
The PUNCH reports that by Wednesday, when the deadline for filing appeals expires, the CJN will have formed the panel.
According to numerous sources, the names of the Justices who might serve on the panel are still a mystery.
There is currently no information available concerning the panel or the justices who would make up the panel, according to one of the court’s sources. What is known is that at the very least by Wednesday, members of the panel may be identified this week.
Additionally, it was heard that on Tuesday, the Peter Obi legal team might challenge the tribunal’s ruling.
The national legal adviser of LP, Kehinde Edun, and the spokeswoman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, both revealed that the presidential candidate has no plans to alter the composition of his legal team.
“I just verified that the appeal has not been filed. That will be completed by Tuesday. We also don’t want to add to or change our legal team, Tanko stated.
The party’s legal counsel concurred with Tanko and stated, “We have not yet filed the appeal because we are still within the time frame. It will be finished at any moment.
“In response to your additional inquiry, our legal team is still in place. Some of our best hands are among them. Since we have no reason to mistrust their capacities, there is no reason to change them.
Mike Ozekhome (SAN), a member of Atiku’s legal team, added, “We are submitting the appeal as soon as possible, within the constitutional and statutory period. The attorneys are all on retainer. As solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, our squad is whole.
The Tinubu Presidential Legal Team coordinator, Babatunde Ogala, stated in an interview with The PUNCH that the President’s legal team would be maintained, just like in the cases of Obi and Atiku.