This archive report was first published on 12 September 2019.
On September 11, 2019, a five-member Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Nigeria delivered a verdict upholding the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The tribunal dismissed the opposition party's petition to overturn the election, which was held on February 23, 2019. Buhari, 76, won the election with 56 per cent of the vote.
Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who came in second with 41 per cent, and his party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), had challenged the election, citing voting irregularities. They wanted the election nullified and Atiku declared winner.
However, the tribunal held that Abubakar, 72, and PDP failed to prove their accusations of election irregularities, including voter intimidation.
The petitioners had also claimed that Buhari did not meet the academic qualification to vie for the position. But the tribunal held that evidence before the court shows that Buhari obtained the Cambridge West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate.
President Buhari welcomed the ruling, saying it was a 'victory for Nigerians who trooped out to overwhelmingly elect him.' He also commended the judiciary for 'dispensing justice without fear or favour,' and urged his opponents to join him in the task of moving Nigeria forward.
