Presidential tribunal adjourns Atiku, PDP’s petition until Saturday

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has adjourned pre-hearing in the petitions filed by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election until Saturday.

The five-member panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned after listening to the agreement by all counsel in the petition on their applications and suggestions for resolving issues.

Tsammani said that the court recognised that the issues the parties were to resolve were narrow and that they should come back on Saturday

He then adjourned until Saturday for the continuation of the pre-hearing.

In the petition marked CA/PEPC/05/2023, Abubakar Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are challenging the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election.

Respondents in the case are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sen. Bola Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Earlier. Counsel for the petitioners, Chris Uche, SAN, told the court that various applications served by the respondents have been answered by the petitioners.

Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN counsel for INEC, said he filed two applications, which he hoped to adopt and rely on.

The first application, he said, was filed on April 19, seeking the court's order to strike out the 32 paragraphs listed in the petition.

The second one, he added, was filed on May 7, seeking an order of the court to strike out the reply on a point of law.

Responding, Uche told the court that, in opposition to the applications, INEC was fighting a proxy war, which a neutral body should not do.

“INEC ought not to be here to fight the battle of Tinubu; INEC ought to be neutral and, at best, defend only the election, he said.

In his submission, counsel for Tinubu, Wole Olanipakun, SAN, asked Yusuf Ali, one of Tinubu’s counsel, to take the applications.

He told the court that the second respondent filed three applications on May 13, striking out the entire petition.

He urged the court to dismiss the petition as incompetent.

Responding, Uche urged the court to dismiss the applications of the 2nd respondent for lacking in merit and hear the petition on its merit

Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said he filed two applications on May 8. The first is praying for 15 reliefs and asking for the dismissal of the petition.

He added that the second application, dated May 8, is asking for an order striking out some identified paragraphs of the petition.

He adopted it and urged the court to grant the applications.

Responding, Uche said the petitioners filed a counter on May 13 and May 14 in response to the third respondent’s application.

He urged the court to dismiss the third respondent’s applications for wanting merit.

Meanwhile, the court reserved a ruling on all the applications.

The petitioners‘ counsel, Uche, told the court that they have agreed to come together and sort out the modalities to apply.

Responding, all respondents counsel separately told the court that it was just mentioned but not agreed on yet.

They urged the court to give them until Monday to sort things out.