The Supreme Court Thursday ruled that the non-availability of election results on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) is no ground for the nullification of the February 2023 presidential election.
Justice Inyang Okoro, leader of the five-panel of Supreme Court justices, gave the ruling in the appeals filed by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the Presidential Elections Petitions Court (PEPC) which upheld Bola Tinubu’s February win, reports Solacebase.
He said it is clear that the petition seeking to nullify the election for noncompliance must not only be ready to prove how the non-compliance affected the outcome election but must be ready to give evidence.
According to him, the petitioner abandoned the duties imposed on them to prove the gravity of noncompliance and its effect.
Justice Okoro said the Electoral Act empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine the best method to use during an election.
He added that the unavailability of results on the IReV, cannot be a ground to nullify the the election.
Justice Okoro says the petitioner needed to lay credible evidence to prove the alleged noncompliance. According to him, he has not produced an original or certified true copy of the evidence they want the court to rely on.
He held that the non-availability of the presidential election results on the IReV Portal did not affect the outcome of the election.
ATIKU’S PLEA DISMISSED
The court also dismissed a motion by the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku, asking the court to accept fresh evidence to prove President Bola Tinubu’s alleged submission of a fake certificate to INEC ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Justice Okoro said the appellants failed to meet the 180-day timeframe provided by the constitution for the amendment of electoral applications.
