The legal dispute over the results of the February 25 presidential election between the Labour Party, Peoples Democratic Party, and the ruling All Progressives Congress has on a new dimension as a result of reports that a combined team of 89 Senior Advocates of Nigeria had been retained.
The array of legal luminaries, selected from various chambers, are reportedly receiving materials that could be used as evidence in court, according to sources within the camp of the warring political parties.
According to our correspondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared APC candidate Bola Tinubu the victor of the hotly contested race.
Atiku Abubakar, a candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party, and the LP flag-bearer, who received 6,984,520 and 8,794,726 votes, respectively, were defeated by the former Lagos governor.
Atiku and Obi, however, disagreed with the INEC-announced findings, asserting during separate press conferences that there was significant violence and rigging during the election.
Last Friday, the drama reportedly took a turn when it was claimed that the two main opposition candidates had sought the court to request permission to review the voting papers.
A few days later, Tinubu’s team also asked the court for permission to view the aforementioned election documents in order to check them for any potential violations by the opposition.
Atiku’s camp revealed on Wednesday that it had gathered 19 SANs to contest the election results.
The former vice president instructed his legal team to “prove the claim of illegality in the February 25 presidential election and recapture the mandate of the Nigerian people” when briefing them on Wednesday at his campaign office in Abuja.
He advised the group that in addition to regaining the mandate from those who carried out the fraudulent election, the legal team should take advantage of the trial’s opportunity to enhance the nation’s constitutional democracy.
18 other Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) are on the team, which is headed by JK Gadzama.
Together with Chris Uche, Paul Usoro, Tayo Jegede, Ken Mozia, Mike Ozekhome, Mahmood Magaji, Joe Abraham, Chukwuma Umeh, Garba Tetengi, and Emeka Etiaba, they also feature Chukwuma Umeh and Joe Abraham.
The National Legal Adviser of the PDP, A. Ajibade, Mr. O. Atoyebi, Mrs. Nella Rabana, Paul Ogbole, Nuremi Jimoh, Abdul Ibrahim, and Chief Goddy Uche.
At the meeting, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, revealed to our correspondent, “Atiku raised a team of 19 Senior Advocates of Nigeria. What are you doing with 50 lawyers after claiming to have won the election, Tinubu?
“It is imperative that they work assiduously towards reclaiming the mandate, not necessarily because of him (Atiku) and the PDP, but to strengthen democracy and the electoral process and for generations unborn.
89 SANs are now involved in the legal dispute and ready to outsmart one another for their clients as a result of the most recent development.
“We have more than 20 SANs that are eager to contribute and provide their services for the renewal and emergence of a new Nigeria,” Umar Farouk, the National Secretary of the Labour Party, told our correspondent. Our attorneys are working on it as we speak.
But, this is not a topic that belongs in a newspaper. We have begun ‘trekking’ to the court, is all I can say,” he stated.
The APC has stated that it is prepared to defend its victory in court, as was to be expected.
The establishment of a crack team on Tuesday was also announced by the ruling party.
Twelve SANs made up the legal team, including Ahmad El-Marzuq, the Party’s national legal adviser.