Politics
S’Court Hears HDP’s Appeal Against Buhari, Today
The Supreme Court has fixed October 28 for a fresh hearing of an appeal filed by the Hope Democratic Party HDP to challenge the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the February 23 presidential election.
The apex court agreed to a fresh hearing of the appeal following a protest by the party that the court’s earlier decision which dismissed the appeal was based on a technicality rather than the merit of law.
In a bid to ensure that the appeal is heard within the time allowed by law, the court has issued hearing notices to parties in the matter notifying them of the October 28 date for a fresh hearing.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are respondents in the suit.
The Supreme Court on October 4 in a unanimous judgement struck out an earlier appeal filed by Mr Owuru.
The five-member Supreme Court panel, led by Mary Odili, struck out the appeal on the grounds that Mr Owuru and his party filed two notices of appeal on one matter contrary to the provisions of the law, which the apex court described as an abuse of court processes.
“The two notices of appeal filed by the appellants and jointly utilised is a procedure not backed by law and cannot be used,” Mrs Odili said in the unanimous judgement.
“Rather the appellants have come here to tackle the decision on the merits which the court below handled out of the abundance of caution,” she said.
The appellants (Mr Owuru and HDP) had challenged the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which on August 22 dismissed their petition for want of competence.
Dissatisfied with the Supreme Court judgement, HDP filed a fresh motion to challenge the way and manners its appeal against President Buhari’s election was determined and dismissed on what it termed technicality rather than the merit of law.
The motion filed by Chukwunonyerem Njoku on behalf of the appellants pleaded with the court to restore their appeal for a fresh hearing.
They are in their new motion asking the apex court to reverse itself in the judgment delivered on October 3.
In the fresh motion brought pursuant to order 8 rule 2 of the Supreme Court Rules and sections 6 and 36 of the 1999 constitution as well as section 22 of the Supreme Court Act, the party and Mr Owuru claimed that the judgment delivered in favour of Mr Buhari is invalid on the ground that it was based on technicalities of law rather than merit and justice.
They maintained that the dismissal of their appeal on technical ground was without compliance with the mandatory procedure of law.
Mr Owuru confirmed that the Supreme Court has notified him and the party that the appeal will be heard afresh on October 28.
The presidential election tribunal had in a ruling on August 22 dismissed the petition of Mr Owuru and HDP for not being in conformity with the position of the law and for being an abuse of court process.
But in their appeal, the HDP and Mr Owuru asked the Supreme Court to void the presidential election of February 23 on the grounds that its postponement from February 16 by INEC was unconstitutional.
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.