Atiku’s lawyers snub supreme court as it gives reasons for dismissing appeal

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, were not represented at the supreme court sitting on Friday.

The court had scheduled Friday to give reasons for dismissing their appeal against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

None of their 40 lawyers was in court when the sitting began.

In September, the presidential election petition tribunal dismissed Atiku’s petition on the grounds that it lacked merit.

The apex court upheld the judgement and set November 15 to give reasons for its decision.

But none of the lawyers to Atiku and the PDP were present when the court called on the appellants’ counsels to announce their presence.

Alex Izinyon, a lawyer in the defense team, told the court that Atiku’s lawyers were not present and that they did not also send representatives.

But the court said it will proceed with the sitting to explain its judgement on the appeal.

Both Atiku and the PDP had expressed reservations over the decision of the court. Atiku said at the time that the judiciary has been sabotaged.

He said: ”The Nigerian judiciary, just like every estate of our realm, has been sabotaged and undermined by an overreaching and dictatorial cabal, who have undone almost all the democratic progress the Peoples Democratic Party and its administrations nurtured for sixteen years, up until 2015.”