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Atiku Declares Intention to seek Redress at Supreme Court, Says PEPT Judgement Bereft of Substantial Justice
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25, 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has announced his intention further seek the nullification of the election of Bola Tinubu as president at the Supreme Court following the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday.
Atiku made his intention known during a world press conference he held in Abuja, where he said the judgment was bereft of substantial justice, noting that “electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.”
In attendance where top members of the party, representatives of the international community and the general public.
Read the detailed statement below:
Good afternoon, Gentlemen of the Press.
I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election.
As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25, Presidential Election.
My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.
Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.
The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress. Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.
Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.
Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.
Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate.
On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu Yar’Adua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war. We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the Press, I thank you for your attention.
The Oyo State High Court has granted the Peoples Democratic Party approval to proceed with its elective national convention scheduled for November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, the state capital.
The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to attend and monitor the exercise, Channels TV reports.
Delivering the ruling, Justice A. L. Akintola issued an interim order permitting the party to continue its convention plans without obstruction.
The decision came after an ex-parte motion filed by Folahan Adelabi against the PDP, its Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; Governor Umaru Fintiri, who heads the National Convention Organising Committee; and the INEC.
In his ruling on Monday, Justice Akintola held that the claimant presented a compelling case that warranted immediate judicial intervention.
“The motion ex-parte has merit and succeeds as prayed,” the judge ruled, granting temporary reliefs that safeguard the party’s schedule and direct all parties to allow the convention to proceed as planned.
The judge subsequently adjourned the hearing of the substantive motion for an interlocutory injunction till November 10, 2025.
The interim order, issued on November 3, 2025, was sealed by the Oyo State High Court and endorsed by its Principal Registrar, S. O. Hammed.
The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has released the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan following outrage over what she described as an unlawful and politically motivated seizure of her travel documents at a Nigerian airport.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, was reportedly stopped by immigration officers on Tuesday morning, who withheld her passport without any official explanation.
The lawmaker, visibly frustrated, went live on social media to protest the action, accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering the seizure.
“I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswin Akpabio instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he said each time I travel out of the country, I spoil the country’s image by granting interviews out in international media.
“Please, can you tell them to release my passport and this embarrassment should stop? You have no right to withhold my passport.
“You have no right to deny me exit and entrance into my country. I have not committed any offence and this must stop. No, this must stop.
“As a matter of fact, I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. No, don’t tell me sorry. Can I please have my passport? You can’t keep doing this to me all the time,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was recently celebrated her second year in office, described the incident as a continuous pattern of harassment.
She noted that her passport had previously been seized under similar circumstances, only to be released after intervention from someone influential.
The female Senator said, “I’ve been standing here for the past 20 minutes. Why are you doing this? What have I committed? The last time it had to take someone influential to call you to release my passport. That was what allowed me travel.
“Now again, you’re withholding my passport while I’m making calls. Is Godswin Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries? Godswin Akpabio, the Senate President, has instructed the Comptroller General of Customs to deny me exit, to withhold my passport. This is wrong.
“Yes, I know I have two federal government cases against me, of which the president of Nigeria instructed the AGF to cancel the cases, to withdraw the cases.
“This president, Bola Tinubu, actually spoke with Godwin Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted, he agreed that they were politically witch-hunting cases. So there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport.
“There is no reason why. You have no right to do that, madam. You have no right. You are taking laws into your hands. There is no court order. I have not missed any of my court appearances.
“I have attended all my court sessions. I am not a flight risk. I am not a risk to my country. So why are you treating me like a criminal? Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens.
Minutes after her public protest gained traction online, the NIS reportedly bowed to pressure and released her passport.
“If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport,” she added.
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Would You Rather I Travel with My Enemies’ Children, Wike Defends Traveling with Sons to Official Assignment
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has reacted to viral photos showing his sons accompanying him on local and foreign trips, saying he has the right to carry them along.
He argued that his sons, as master’s degree holders, need the exposure.
“What law says that my sons shouldn’t travel? Let the FCT say where they paid ₦1.
“What official matter? Did they sign any document? It doesn’t need to be a personal trip.
“What’s wrong? So, I can travel with anybody from the FCT. I can travel with anybody in Nigeria. I have that right.
“Oh, come on, they have to know how Nigeria is. They have to learn about government,” Wike said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
Asked whether he was teaching them to become politicians, he said, “No, that’s not correct. My first son is a lawyer. He said, ‘No, I’m not going to practice. I want to be a farmer.’
“I said, ‘What do you mean by this? He said, ‘No, this is what I want to do.’ I said, ‘Okay’. What do you do?
“They’ve gone for training in Spain. They’ve gone for training in Lisbon.
“My second son finished from King’s College — a master’s degree in Economics. He said he wants to be in real estate.”
The former Rivers State governor also said he is happy that his sons behave responsibly and give him comfort.
“I’m so happy that I have children who have given me comfort, who have not given me problems.
“Assuming they were somewhere smoking. You would have said, ‘Oh, look at these children now. Who are they? I will not travel with my enemy’s children,” he added.
Wike has been spotted with his sons at official events, including the commissioning of projects in the FCT.
Last week, he was criticised by some Nigerians for taking them to a summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
