Atiku suffers first loss ahead of final supreme court verdict

The supreme court has rejected the plea of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to adopt all its interlocutory appeals alongside the main appeal against President Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory.

The apex court rejected the plea when it began hearing the party’s suit against Buhari’s victory at the presidential election petition tribunal.

The PDP and Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, had through Levi Uzoukwu, their lead counsel, asked the court to allow them adopt all their briefs.

Uzoukwu requested that all counsels adopt their briefs, both in the main appeal and seven other interlocutory appeals.

“We apply that all the briefs in this appeals be adopted so that at the end of the day, this court will take its decision on the matter,” he said.

But ruling on the request after a short break, a seven-man panel of the court led by Tanko Muhammad, chief justice of Nigeria, held that the main appeal covers the interlocutory appeals as well.

The panel held that the main appeal covers all the others and therefore, only the main appeal should be adopted in court.

“All other appeals shall abide by judgement in SC/1211/19″ (which is the main appeal),” the panel said.

Counsels to Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also opposed Uzoukwu’s submission.