One of two petitions made by opposition candidate Gen Muhammadu Buhari that said ballots had not taken place in 29 of the 31 states therefore asking for an annulment of the last presidential election results, was dismissed by a Nigerian court. This leaves the second claim made by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that said the last elections were rigged by the ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party. Judge Abdulkadir Abubakar Jega ruled that Gen Buhari, who also contested the previous election in 2003 and is a former military ruler of Nigeria, failed to prove that violations of the electoral law were substantial enough to invalidate the overall result. Results from the elections were widely condemned by the media, but presidential spokesman Mobolanji Adebiyi said the judges would rule on what was in front of them, not on the media reports. Emma Esau, of the Alliance for Credible Elections, said Nigerians had “faith the judges will give us a good ruling (…) In any case we don’t believe there will be violence after the decision is announced. This will not take Nigeria to the brink,” she said. bbc
