Nigeria’s main opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, who came second in last month’s election, has filed a formal petition in court to annul the ballot won by the ruling party.
Abubakar’s petition was filed late Tuesday at the Abuja appeals court following one of the Labor Party candidates Peter Obi, who came third, as part of what will be a protracted legal battle over the February 25 election.
Former Lagos governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) leader Bola Tinubu won the election with about 37 percent of the vote, but opposition parties charged that delays in uploading electronic results aided massive ballot rigging.
In the petition, Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claimed the election was invalid because the Independent National Electoral Commission or INEC failed to comply with electoral law by not uploading the results.
Among other allegations, the petition alleged vote manipulation and that Tinubu did not meet the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner.
It asked Abubakar to be named the winner or a new election to be held.
The constitution allows the court 180 days to make a decision on the election issue and the plaintiff can then appeal to the supreme court.
Abubakar, who is in his sixth bid for the presidency, also challenged the results in 2019 when he lost against the incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari.
The Supreme Court dismissed the fraud claims a few months later.
Voting riots
Obi is a surprise third candidate who has attracted younger voters allowing him to challenge the dominance of the APC and PDP which between them have ruled Nigeria since the end of the military dictatorship in 1999.
In a petition at the same Abuja appeals court, Obi also accused INEC of violating electoral laws.
INEC has denied any illegal activities, even admitting technical problems with the so-called BVAS voting machines.
Buhari resigned in May after two terms, leaving Nigeria grappling with widespread insecurity, economic woes and growing poverty.
Nigerians had hoped that the presidential ballot would give them a chance to be heard, but many were disappointed by the way the election was held.
Voters and opposition parties complained last month that technical glitches with voting machines caused delays and allowed vote rigging, which the electoral commission denied.
International observers, including from the European Union, noted major logistical problems, disenfranchised voters and lack of transparency.
Earlier on Tuesday, president-elect Tinubu called for unity, saying “the time for politics is gone”.
Nigeria’s ruling party also won a majority of contested governorships in last weekend’s local elections, results showed, after a ballot marred by voter suppression and violent intimidation that the US government said was deeply troubling.