Six states, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto have filed a suit before the Supreme Court, against attorney general of the federation, Abubakar Malami. 

In what will be the first legal scrutiny of the just-concluded controversial presidential election, the states are asking the court to declare that the process of the election was not in compliance with the electoral act and that the nationwide failure to electronically transmit results from polling units, runs foul of multiple provisions of the electoral law. 

The governors of the six states are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose candidate Atiku Abubakar polled 6,984,520 votes to become runner-up to President-elect Bola Tinubu who polled 8,794,726. 

The states are asking the Supreme Court to trash the result of the presidential election and declare it of no effect, a pronouncement that will effectively nullify the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission which named Mr Tinubu the winner of the election. 

The suit is also seeking a declaration that the entire process of the presidential and national parliamentary elections did not comply with legal provisions and should be holistically reviewed with original result sheets signed at polling units. 

“A declaration that the entire results of the Presidential Election conducted on the 25th of February, 2023 announced by the Chairman of INEC at the National Collation Centre, Abuja, in flagrant violation of the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the Presidential Election, were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever,” the party said in the court document.

It added, “A declaration that the fundamentally flawed electoral process through the non-uploading of the results of each of the 176,974 Polling Units nationwide, in respect of the presidential election and National Assembly Elections held on Saturday, 25th February 2023 were not in accordance with the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the presidential election.”

Mike Ozekhome, the attorney for the states, asserted that the agents and officials of the federal government and INEC disregarded the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the Elections 2022, and the INEC Manual for Election Officials by failing to transmit the collated results using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which is a flagrant violation of the applicable laws.