Apex Court’s dismissal of Atiku, Obi’s petitions long expected — HURIWA

• Tells ex-VP to quit politics

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has claimed that the verdict of the Supreme Court that threw away the petitions of the presidential candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), was long expected.

The Apex Court on Thursday, upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement yesterday, said: “The supreme court of Nigeria did not perform the unthinkable, neither did the conservative and traditionalist justices of the apex court perform any miracle by upstaging or invalidating the election of the incumbent President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It did what most critics and civil rights leaders already predicted in in its ruling when it controversially and incredibly held that the appeal filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, lacked merit.

“The Atiku Abubakar’s team that appeared in that US Court were also given evidence to show that the secondary school that Tinubu claimed to have graduated in 1970 in Lagos state was only established in 1974.

“This Supreme Court’s twin distorted and crime-ridden judgments is a final testament to the fact that it is of no moment or consequences if candidates for election present fake certificates provided they can Muster the capacity to manipulate the electoral process and get into office before the determination of any litigation challenging their crooked electoral victory or have enough dollar denominated cash to bribe judges.”

Meanwhile, Onwubiko called on the former Vice President to quit politics and become an elder statesman and allow the likes of Peter Obi and a few other good people to take the political centre stage.

He said: “HURIWA expects Atiku Abubakar to be a statement and campaign for proper electoral reforms so political cases are decided before any levels of government is sworn in after election.