- Court to hear Atiku’s case on Tuesday
The tribunal for the presidential election petition has postponed the hearing for the case presented by Peter Obi and the Labour Party for further preparations.
A petition was filed by Obi and the LP challenging the election victory of Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023 has been filed by Livy Ozoukwu, lead counsel to LP and Obi, alleging that Tinubu was not lawfully elected with the majority of votes during the election.
One of the allegations made was that Kashim Shettima, the vice-president-elect, had a double nomination, which goes against the electoral act.
The petitioners demand that the tribunal immediately declare Obi as the winner of the presidential poll or order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a new election without delay.
Representing the petitioners during the pre-hearing session on Monday was Livy Uzoukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The lawyers representing APC, Tinubu, and INEC informed the tribunal that they have submitted individual responses to address the concerns raised by the petitioners in their filings.
Following that, the panel consisting of five members, with Haruna Tsammani at the helm, has decided to adjourn until Wednesday for additional pre-hearing proceedings.
The court instructed the parties involved in the petition to indicate which witness statements and documents they would use or challenge during the hearing of the case.
The APC is being represented by Lateef Fagbemi, while Tinubu has Wole Olanipekun as their lawyer. INEC is being counselled by Abubakar Mahmoud.
The petition of the Action Peoples Party (APP) has been adjourned by the tribunal to Wednesday for further pre-hearing.
The pre-hearing session for Atiku Abubakar’s petition and Allied People’s Movement (APM) is scheduled for Tuesday.
During the court session, the Action Alliance (AA) withdrew their petition against Tinubu’s victory.
The petition was dismissed by the panel, as there was no opposition from the respondents.
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