The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on Tuesday read out its pre-hearing report on petitions challenging the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 presidential election.
At the sitting, the panel directed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to prove his case against Tinubu within 3 weeks beginning from May 30, 2023, a day after the latter must have been sworn-in into office.
The deadlines for Atiku Abubakar and other petitioners to prove their cases are yet to be read out at the ongoing sitting.
Conclusion of the pre-hearing sessions will pave the way for main hearing of all cases challenging the 2023 presidential election because the presiding judges gives direction on how each matter should go.
There are three petitioners before the Tribunal namely, Peter Obi and Labour party, Atiku Abubakar and Peoples Democratic party; as well as the Allied Peoples Movement.
Recall that Obi’s legal team led by Dr Livy Uzoukwu SAN had sought for seven weeks to present witnesses, citing the Independent National Electoral Commission’s delay in cooperating and availing them with materials used for the election.
On the Petition of Labour Party and Peter Obi against INEC, Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and the APC, the five-man panel of the court chaired by Justice Haruna Tsammani brought down Obi’s request for 7 weeks to 3 weeks.
The Tribunal took the decision since the parties failed to agree on what issues to be streamlined by the court.
INEC was given five days (21 June to June 29) to bring witnesses while APC were given five days to present witnesses.
The court also ordered that every other evidence from parties must be brought in and concluded by July while parties will adopt their final address in August.
Furthermore, despite the opposition by lawyers representing Tinubu and APC, the tribunal consolidated the petitions of Obi, Atiku Abubakar and Allied Peoples Movement into one petition since they all challenging the outcome of the elction.
Speaking to newsmen after the court’s directive, Obi’s lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu, said the important thing was that the court has a discretion to determine the weeks parties should use to call witnesses.
“What we have to do is to do case management, Livy said adding that what INEC is doing to them by not making electoral documents available “is very unfortunate.”
“INEC is playing pranks, we wrote letters to INEC saying we want to pay the fees required,” Uzoukwu said debunking INEC’s claim that LP refused to pay requisite fees.
He alleged that INEC was holding on to electoral materials for manipulation purposes, adding that when the hearing begins, he would subpoena the Commission to produce the electoral materials.
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