The recent claims suggesting the withdrawal of five justices from the panel set to address the appeals of Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, and Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, in the February 25 presidential election have been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Dr. Festus Akande, the Director of Press and Information at the Supreme Court, has strongly confirmed that the panel is still complete and will proceed to hear the appeals as planned.
In contrast to the online rumors, Akande provided clarification on the situation: “This is not true. The panel is ready. You will see all the Justices tomorrow (today). There is no crisis anywhere, as claimed by those online platforms.”
Apart from the appeals of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the Supreme Court is also scheduled to review the appeal brought forth by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Additionally, the hearing will address a motion filed by Atiku Abubakar, seeking permission to present supplementary evidence.
It is important to note that similar false assertions had previously circulated during the proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
During that time, unverified rumors indicated that Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo had stepped down from his role. However, investigations uncovered that these assertions were groundless, and Justice Ugo had not resigned, contrary to the allegations.
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