On April 5, 1999, the Court of Appeal in Abuja was bustling with people, primarily journalists, lawyers, politicians, and others. The crowd gathered at the court premises and anxiously awaited the ruling of the five-man panel led by Justice Dahiru Musdapher on the lawsuit filed by Chief Olu Falae, the defeated candidate of the All People’s Party (APP) in the February 27, 1999 presidential election....For More CONTINUE THE FULL READING▶▶
The court eventually upheld the victory of retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, dismissing Falae’s suit. The presiding Judge, Justice Dahiru Musdapher declared, ”I have come to the inevitable conclusion that this petition lacks merit … and I hereby dismiss it in its entirety.” He further emphasized that none of Falae’s allegations were substantiated, and only weak allusions were made to allegations of voter fraud.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Obasanjo the winner with over 18 million votes, compared to Falae’s 11 million. Falae had claimed that Obasanjo was ineligible to run in the election and asserted that the retired General had secured victory through extensive electoral fraud.
After his victory, Obasanjo went ahead to rule Nigeria. He even won second term in 2003 and later produced Musa Yar’Adua (now late) as his successor in 2007 amid widespread allegations of rigging.
