JUST IN: To contest Tinubu’s victory, Atiku employs 19 SANs

In order to contest the results of the election on February 25, Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, has assembled a legal team of 19 Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

On Wednesday at his campaign headquarters in Abuja, Atiku briefed the group, urging them to “prove the charge of illegality in the election and recapture the mandate of the Nigerian people.”

JK Gadzama, an accomplished litigator and business attorney, is the team’s leader.

He went on to say that it was imperative that they move on with this process, not just for himself and the PDP but also to strengthen constitutional democracy and protect it for future generations.

SANs on the list include Chief Chris Uche, Paul Usoro, Tayo Jegede, Ken Mozia, Chief Mike Ozekhome, Mahmood Magaji, Joe Abraham, Chukwuma Umeh, Garba Tetengi, and Chief Emeka Etiaba. Also on the list are Chief Goddy Uche, Professor Maxwell Gidado, PDP’s National Legal Adviser A.K. Ajibade, O.M.

The candidates for the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, have vowed to fight for their mandate in court and have refused to accept defeat.

The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, requested the two contestants to join him in the effort to build the country in his acceptance speech after he was named the winner of the election on Wednesday. But, the two candidates rejected this offer of reconciliation.

READ ALSO: Tinubu is given access to electoral materials by the court

With 8,794,726 votes, 70-year-old Tinubu defeated Atiku and Obi, who received 6,984,520 and 6,101 votes, respectively, to become the next president, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Atiku and Obi addressed the Presidential Election Court in their respective cases to request authorization for the inspection of election materials used during the presidential election.

By taking this action, the Court of Appeal in Abuja last Friday gave Atiku and Obi permission to access all of the sensitive materials used to conduct the poll.

After hearing two separate ex parte applications that the two disgruntled presidential candidates filed alongside their political parties, an appellate court bench chaired by Justice Joseph Ikyegh issued the ruling.

Bola Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate and the victor of the election, was listed as a respondent in the case, along with INEC and the All Progressives Congress.

Both requests were supported by Section 146 (1) of the Electoral Act of 2022, Paragraphs 47 (1, 2 & 3) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act of 2022, as well as the court’s inherent jurisdiction as recognised by Sections 6 (6) A & B of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).