The Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the 2007 elections that put Umar Musa Yar'adua on the seat of Nigeria's president. Although it acknowledged that there were irregularities during the elections, the seven-member apex court ruled that the appellants, former military head of state retired General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC), had failed to show evidence that graft was widespread enough to force an annulment.

On the appeal filed by the ANPP candidate, the Supreme Court justices who dismissed the petition were Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Idris Legbo Kutigi, Justice Aloysius Iyorger Katsina-Alu, Justice Niki Tobi, and Justice Dahiru Musdapher. The dissenters were Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, and Justice George Adesola Oguntade, who was also the only dissenter in the ruling against the petition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Justice Niki Tobi

Justice Niki Tobi read the lead judgement in against the petition filed by the ANPP candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari. "In my view", Justice Tobi said, "the most important complaint in an election petition is the disenfranchisement of eligible voters who reported within the statutory time to cast their votes but could not for resons of violation of the Electoral Act.

"If there is evidence that despite all the non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the result of the election was not substantially affected, the petition must fail. In other words, the Election Tribunal must, as a matter of law, dismiss the petition, and that accords with section 146(1) of the Electoral Act".

The honourable justice continued: "For the avoidance of doubt, I am not saying by this judgement that there was no evidence before the Court of Appeal tom dislodge section 146 of the Electoral Act. In sum, the appeal fails and it is dismissed. Accordingly, Umaru Yar'adua and Goodluck Jonathan are the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".

Born on 14 July, 1940 in Esanma, Delta state, Justice Niki Tobi attended Community School, Esanma, from 1946 to 1949. Between 1950 and 1953, he attended N.A. School, Akugbene, before proceeding to Teachers Training College, Bomadi, between 1956 and 1957.

Tobi also attended University of Lagos from 1966 to 1971, Nigerian Law School, Lagos, 1969 to 1970, and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, between 1979 and 1983. he taught at L.A. School, Esanma between 1954 and 1955 and at L.A. School, Okpokunou from 1959 to 1960. Between 1956 and 1957 he was a student teacher at Teachers Training College, Bomadi. He served as headmaster at L.A. School, Bomadi in 1958 and at L.A. School, Oboro in 1962.

Justice Niki Tobi became an administrative officer with McDermott Nigeria Limited, Lagos, in 1966 and went into private legal practice in 1970. he went back to the public sector where he served as State Counsel II with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Lagos, between 1972 and 1973. He served as Legal Counsel I from 1974 to 1975 and as Senior state Counsel in 1976.

He moved to the academia in 1976 as Lecturer I in the University of Maiduguri and served as the acting head of the Department of Law between 1976 and 1981. He became Dean, Faculty of Law in 1978 and again in 1984-'85, and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, from 1981 to 1983. He was Visiting Professor of Law, University of Calabar from 1983 to 1984 and became a judge in the Rivers State High Court of Justice between 1985 and 1990. He became a justice of the Court of Appeal in 1990 where he had been until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 2002.

Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi

Confirmed by the Senate as Chief Justice of Nigeria in January 2007, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi has been a justice of the Supreme Court since 1992. born in Kutigi, Niger state, in December 1939, Justice Kutigi attended Elementary School, Kutigi, between 1946 and 1951, then he went to Niger Middle School, Bida from 1952 to 1953. He was at Govrenment College, Zaria (now Barewa College) between 1960 and 1961 before proceeding to the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, from 1962 to 1963. Kutigi also attended the School of Oriental Studies, University of London from 1963 to 1965, Gibson and Weldon College of Law from 1964 to 1965 and Nigerian Law School, Lagos between 1965 and 1966.

Justice Kutigi started his career as Pupil State Counsel in 1966 and rose to become State Counsel, a position he held between 1968 and 1970. Between 1970 and 1971, he served as State Counsel Grade I, Senior State Counsel Grade I, 1972 to 1973; Principal Counsel, 1973 to 1974; and Deputy Solicitor General, 1974 to 1975. Between 1975 and 1976, he was the Registrar, High Court of Justice, Sokoto, and Solicitor Genral and Permanent Secretary, Niger state, between 1976 and 1977. He was a High Court judge between 1976 and 1980 and a justice of the Court of Appeal from 1980 to 1992.

Justice Aloysius Iyorger Katsina-Alu

Justice Katsina-Alu read the verdict of the Supreme Court that threw out the petiton filed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Reading the judgement on behalf of the other five justices, justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu said: "A careful reading of Section 145(1) would reveal that a petition under subsection (1)(a)(b) and (c) does presuppose that the petitioner did in fact participate in the election as a contestant. Whereas a petition under subsection (1)(d) does presuppose that the petitioner was excluded from participating in the lection as a contestant.

"I should imagine that a petitioner who who did not contest would not be heard to complain that the lection was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act or that the respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election".

The Justice then stated that: "In my judgement, therefore, the appellants were not excluded in participating in the lection held on 21st April, 2007. This issue disposes of the appeal. That being so, I do not deem it necessary to consider the issues raised in the appeal. In the result the appeal fails and I dismiss it. I affirm the judgement of the Court of Appeal.... I make no order as to costs".

Justice Katsina-Alu began his career as a legal practitioner in Lagos in 1958. Ten years later, he became a legal officer with the Nigerian Ports Authority, Lagos, from 1969 to 1977, when he relocated his legal practice to Gboko, Benue state. Between 1978 and 1979, he served as the Benue state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice and became a judge at the Benue State High Court of Justice, Makurdi from 1979n to 1985. He has been a justice of the Supreme Court since 1998, after serving in the Appeal Court between 1985 and 1998.

Called to the English Bar in 1967, Katsina-Alu was at the Inns of Court Law School of Law, Gibson and Weldon College of Law, University of London, between 1964 and 1967. Born in August 1941, he attended St. Ann's Primary School, Adikpo, RCM Primary School, Turungwa, and St. Patrick's Primary School, from 1951 to 1955. He attended St. Michael's Secondary School from 1956 to 1961 before proceeding to Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna, in 1962. Between 1962 and 1963, he was at the Mons Military Training College, Aldershot, England, and at ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, from 1963 to 1964.

Justice Dahiru Musdapher

Born in Babura, Jigawa state, on July 14, 1942, Justice Dahiru Musdapher attended Babura Elemetary school between 1950 and 1953 and Birnin Kudu Middle School from 1954 to 1956, He was at Rumfa College, Kano, between 1957 and 1962 and proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1963 until 1964 when he went to the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. On returning to Nigeria in 1967, he enrolled in the Nigerian Law School, from where he graduated in 1968.

Justice Musdapher was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Kaduna state from 1976 to 1978. In 1979, he became a judge in the Kano State High Court and the chief judge of the state from 1979 to 1985. He was a justice of the Appeal Court between 1985 and 2003, and has been in the Supreme Court since 2003.

Justice Maryam Aloma Mukhtar

Before moving to the Supreme Court in 2005, Justice Aloma Mukhtar served as the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, of which she was a justice from 1987, from 1993. Called to the Nigerian Bar in July 1967, Aloma Mukhtar was born on November 20, 1944. She was also called to the English Bar in absentia in 1966. She attended St. George Primary School, Zaria, Rossholme School for Girls, East Brent, Somerset, England, and Gibson and Weldon College of Law.

She became Pupil State Counsel, Northern Nigerian Ministry of Justice in 1967 and Chief Registrar, Kano State Judiciary in 1973. Between 1977 and 1987, she was a judge in the Kano State High Court.

Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen

Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen was born Okurike, Cross River state, on December 22, 1950. He attended Presbyterian Primary School, Okurike, between 1956 and 1966 and Odorgorno Secondary School, Adabraka, Accra, Ghana, from 1967 to 1972. He was at the Accra Academy between 1972 and 1974, the University of Ghana, Legon, from 1974 to 1977, and the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, between 1977 and 1978.

He was Pupil State Counsel, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, between 1978 and 1979 and became a partner at Effiom Ekong and Company, Calabar, from 1979 to 1988. He became the principal partner, Walter Onnoghen and Associates, Calabar, between 1988 and 1989. He was a high court judge in the Cross River State Judiciary between 1989 and 1998 and a justice of the Court of Appeal from 1998 to 2005, when he became a justice of the Supreme Court.

Justice George Adesola Oguntade

Born in 1940 in Ijebu-Ode, Justice George Adesola Oguntade attended St. Michael's CMS School, Epe, Lagos state, from 1947 to 1952. he then went to Ijebu-Ode Grammar School from 1953 to 1958 and Holborn College of Law, London, between 1961 and 1964.

He worked with the High Court of Western Nigeria from 1958 to 1961 and went into private legal practice between 1966 and 1980. He became a judge of the Lagos State High Court in 1980, and was appointed justice of the Court of Appeal in 1987. He became a justice of the Supreme Court in 2004.

Justice George Adesola Oguntade delivered the dissenting judgement in the petition filed by the ANPP presidential candidate in the 2007 elections, General Muhammadu Buhari, on behalf of two other justices of the Supreme Court. He also provided the only dissenting voice on the petition of the AC candidate, former President Atiku Abubakar.

On the Buhari appeal, Justice Oguntade maintained that: "The inevitable conclusion I arrived at is that the failure of the first respondent (INEC) and the chief national electoral officer, Maurice Iwu, to use serialised ballot papers bound in a booklet is clearly a non-compliance, which shows that the 2007 presidential elections were not conducted substantially in accordance with the principles of the Electoral Act 2006....

"Since it is the same invalid ballot paper that converts later in the process of an election into vote, the resulting vote must also become an invalid vote".

Justice Oguntade concluded by saying: "In the final conclusion, this appeal succeeds; I hold the view that the failure of the 1st and 2nd respondents to comply with section 42(2) of the Electoral Act...is so grave that the said elections ought to be nullified.

"...I annul the Presidential Elections in Nigeria held on April 21, 2007 and order fresh elections within 90 days from today".

On the petition of Atiku Abubakar, Justice Oguntade stated that: "I have no doubt in my mind that INEC wilfully and recklessly excluded the 1st petitioner/appellant from the 21 April, 2007 elections.... I hold that the petitioner/appellant, by a preponderance of evidence established that the 1st petitioner/appellant...was unlawfully excluded from the election. I therefore order that the Presidential Elections...be annulled and a new election conducted within 90 days from today".