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Atiku, Obi cases were messed up by their lawyers- says Robert Clarke, SAN
Following the verdict of the Supreme Court which on Thursday affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general election, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Robert Clarke has said that the lawyers of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi did not display professionalism in challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory.
He argued that the counsels did not display a good sense of legal practice.
Clarke stated this on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The elder statesman insisted that there was a lack of due diligence in the appeals, adding that the legal representation of Atiku and Obi could have been better.
The senior lawyer said he would not even permit a junior member of his chamber to bring such a brief before the Supreme Court.
According to him, “I am not saying they (Atiku, Obi’s lawyers) fumbled the case; what I am saying is that they have not displayed a good sense of legal practice.
“Where the law is not allowed to put its heads up in a proceeding, it means that there is another law which prohibits their lawyers to have brought such. They know it, they still decided — either to please their supporters and allow such a matter to come before the Supreme Court.”
“I will not allow any junior in my chambers, even one or two years old to carry such a brief to go and argue in court when I have looked into all the facts and the facts are very clear. There is a limitation of time in election matters. You cannot do certain things.”
Clarke said Obi and Atiku’s lawyers had the chance to present their evidence at a lower court but they did not.
“They had the opportunity as a pre-election matter but they never brought it out. They had the opportunity as a matter within a tribunal’s case but they never brought it. They are now coming and bringing matters that should have been argued in the lower tribunal and the Supreme Court will now be reviewing such evidence as an appellate matter and not as an original jurisdictional matter.”
“I am not blaming the lawyers; that is the last thing I would do, but I am sorry to say that the lawyers, with due respect to them, should have done a better job in this regard,” he added.
Two Nigerian-born scientists—Adesola Adegoke, a researcher at Arizona State University (ASU), and Seunnla Adelusi, a PhD candidate at the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada—have been named among the 20 global winners of the Digital GreenTalents Award 2025.
These two Nigerians were announced among the winners during a virtual ceremony held on 25 November. In a statement following the virtual announcement ceremony, the organisers said the 20 awardees for this year joined from different time zones, including “very early morning in Canada and evening hours in the Philippines.”
The digital Green Talent Award is an annual initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that recognises outstanding young researchers whose work advances sustainability through digital innovation.
Each year, 20 scientists are selected from a competitive global pool for their cutting-edge ideas at the intersection of digitalisation and environmental sustainability.
Alex Otti, the Abia State Governor, on Sunday paid a visit to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
The governor was accompanied by officials of the Sokoto State Government during the closed-door visit.
Nnamdi Kanu was recently moved to Sokoto after he was convicted on terrorism-related charges and handed a life sentence by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Governor Otti had earlier promised to pursue every lawful and political avenue to ensure that Kanu gets justice. Sunday’s visit is seen as part of ongoing efforts by the Abia State Government regarding his case.
Details of the meeting were not made public as of the time of this report.
Armed terrorists have abducted a bride-to-be, her bridesmaid, and eight other residents from Chacho village in Wurno Local Government Area of Sokoto State
The Sokoto abduction occurred around 1:30 a.m., according to residents, when the attackers stormed the village. Most of the victims were women, with only one man also taken.
One resident sustained injuries and is receiving medical treatment. Villagers told reporters that the bride was preparing for her wedding scheduled for later that morning when the raid struck, plunging the community into shock and mourning.
A community member described the attack as “tragic,” noting the delay in security response. “Security operatives were alerted immediately, but they only arrived about an hour after the bandits had fled,” he said, expressing frustration.
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