Tribunal Merges Peter Obi, Atiku, and APM’s Petitions
The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja on Tuesday consolidated the three petitions seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election of 2023.
In a unanimous decision, a five-member court panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani rejected the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC’s objections to the consolidation of the petitions.
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Since they all pertain to the same election, the court ruled that the cases must be consolidated and handled as a single petition.
Therefore, Mr. Peter Obi, candidate for the Labour Party, LP, is scheduled to file his challenge to the February 25 presidential election results on May 30.
However, despite Obi’s earlier assertion that he would need seven weeks to present his case with 50 witnesses, the court, in its ruling, reduced the period to three weeks and gave INEC, Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Senator Kassim Shettima, five days each to defend the petition.
Similarly, the court gave the fourth defendant in the case, Kabiru Masari, three days to present his defence.
The court emphasised that the parties would file their final briefs of argument on August 5, allowing it to set a date for rendering a decision.
In addition to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who placed second in the election, and Obi of the Labour Party, who placed third, the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, also filed a petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election.
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Despite the fact that five petitions were initially filed to challenge Tinubu’s reelection, the Action Alliance, AA, withdrew its case on May 8, and the Action Peoples Party, APP, did the same two days later.
Meanwhile, the panel led by Justice Tsammani hinted that it may prohibit lawyers and members of the public from bringing mobile phones into the courtroom on the next adjourned date.
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