ABUJA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — A panel of five judges from Nigeria’s election tribunal late Wednesday unanimously affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu, solidifying his position as the West African nation’s leader and effectively dismissing petitions by opposition parties.

Delivering the judgment, which lasted over 12 hours, the five-member panel at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in the national capital of Abuja, said the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labor Party (LP), which filed the petitions, had failed to prove their allegations beyond reasonable doubt.

The court ruled that the petitions “lacked merit” and dismissed them.

Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the LP, who respectively came second and third in the presidential election won by Tinubu in February, had approached the court to dismiss the election results announced by the country’s election body, alleging it was fraught with irregularities.

Both Abubakar and Obi have disagreed with the judgment of the election tribunal, saying they would further seek redress in court.

In his official statement following the verdict, Tinubu said he welcomed the tribunal’s judgment with “a sense of solemn responsibility and preparedness to serve Nigerians, irrespective of political persuasions, faiths and tribal identities.”

He also urged his challengers to inspire their supporters to patriotism that would be elevated above partisan considerations and manifest into support for government efforts to improve the citizens’ livelihood.