Twelve Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) have been recruited by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to defend the election results for APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu.

With 8,794,726 votes, Tinubu won 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states, about two million more than his closest challenger, Peoples Democratic Party candidate and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (PDP).

Peter Obi, the candidate for the Labour Party (LP), ended with 6,101,533 votes, while Atiku, the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), came in second with 6,984,520 votes. Atiku and Obi have both said that they will seek legal recourse to overturn the election results.

The government claims it is open to meeting with the disputants in court. On Tuesday, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, issued a 13-person roster that includes 12 prominent attorneys in a statement.

At the top of the list is Wole Olanipekun, a legal legend and the principal lawyer for the governing party before the Presidential Election Tribunal.

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers to represent the Party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal,” the statement read.

“The team is comprised of legal luminaries with vast experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.

“The legal team consisting of twelve (12) Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Esq., is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, a renowned lawyer who has successfully handled various high-profile election matters and other landmark cases.”

Other members of the list are Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Sam Ologunorisa, Rotimi Oguneso, Olabisi Soyebo, Gboyega Oyewole, Muritala Abdulrasheed, Aliyu Omezia Saiki, Tajudeen Oladoja, Pius Akubo, Oluseye Opasanya, Suraju Saida and Kazeem Adeniyi.

The party is “confident that the legal team possesses requisite expertise and experience to ensure a successful outcome for the APC in the Presidential Election Petition matters.”

It also urged party members to support the team in its effort to defend the will and mandate of the people, calling on all parties involved to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and respect for the rule of law throughout the legal process.

YNaija