Presidential Dispute: We won’t tolerate technicalities, Court warns Tinubu, Atiku, Obi

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Presidential Dispute: We won’t tolerate technicalities, Court warns Tinubu, Atiku, Obi

ABUJA– The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, on Monday, held its inaugural session, a legal ritual that precedes the actual hearing of petitions seeking to nullify the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

At the session, a five-member panel of Justices of the Court of Appeal that will hear and determine all the petitions challenging the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the presidential election, were revealed.

Whereas the panel will be headed by the Presiding Justice (PJ) of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, other members of the panel are; Justice Stephen Adah (PJ Asaba Division), Justice Minsurat Bolaji-Yusuf (Asaba Division), Justice Boluokuromo Ugo (Kano Division), as well as Justice Abba Mohammed (Ibadan Division).In his opening remarks, the Presiding Justice, Tsammani, urged lawyers representing all the petitioners to avoid sensational comments, stressing that the court would not tolerate time wasting tactics and technicalities.

He said: “As we commence hearing of the petitions, let us avoid making sensational comments. Let us consider the safety and interest of the country, that is paramount.

“We should avoid unnecessary time wasting applications ajf objections so that we can look at substance of the case rather than unnecessary technicalities.

“Let us cooperate with each other so that every one will be satisfied that justice has been done”.

In his response, the lead counsel to the President-elect, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, assured the court of the maximum cooperation of his team, acknowledging the need for the matter to be determined without recourse to unnecessary technicalities.

Likewise, head of the team of lawyers representing the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, said they would do everything possible to assist the court to do justice in the matter.

On his part, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, who is representing the Labour Party and its candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, noted that the petitions were of great public interest, saying, “at the end of the day, I am very confident that the petitions will impact on Nigeria’s jurisprudence and constitutionalism”.

“We will do everything possible to assist your Lordships,” he added.

In the same vein, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, through its lawyer, Mr. A. B. Mahmood, SAN, expressed its confidence on the ability of the court to do justice to all the petitions before it.

“My lords, we are confident that at the end of the day, justice will be done,” Mahmood, SAN, stated.

Meanwhile, the Action Alliance, AA, has withdrawn the petition it filed against Tinubu’s election victory.

Counsel for the party, Mr. Oba Maduabuchi, SAN, applied to discontinue further proceedings in the matter, shortly after the court kick-started its pre-hearing session.

Oba, SAN, told the court that the petitioners filed its withdrawal notice on May 3.

Following a no-objection stance by all the respondents in the matter, the panel dismissed the petition.

Specifically, AA had in the petition marked CA/PEPC/01/2023, which it filed on March 16, insisted that though its candidate, Solomon Okanigbuan, was validly nominated to contest the presidential election, he was however unlawfully excluded by INEC.

The party maintained that the presidential election was thus, “invalid for non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, as amended”.

It argued that Tinubu “was thus not validly elected as his election contravenes the Electoral Act, the 1999 Constitution and INEC Guidelines for the 2023 general elections”.

The petitioners told the court that Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was cited as the 4th Respondent, was not a member of the AA and was not sponsored by the party, adding that he did not participate in its presidential primary election.

The court, after dismissing AA’s petition, adjourned further pre-hearing session on the petition by the LP and its candidate, Obi, till Wednesday.

The court equally fixed the same date for another petition by the Action Peoples Party, APP, while it adjourned the case the PDP and own its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, brought against Tinubu’s election, as well as the petition by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, till Tuesday.While adjourning the cases, the court urged the parties to identify all the witness statements and documents they would rely on or object to during the actual hearing of the petitions.

Among those that were in court to witness the proceedings on Monday, included the presidential candidate of the LP, Mr. Obi.

The court had earlier in the proceedings, barred Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State from standing before it as the representative of the President-elect, Tinubu.

The Plateau state governor had immediately the first petition was called up, stood up and announced himself as Tinubu’s representative.

“My Lord’s my name is Simon Lalong and I am here to represent Tinubu,” the governor stated.

However, the panel said it would not recognize him as Tinubu’s representative. “You cannot represent an individual. Tinubu is not a corporation that would need a representative,” the presiding justice held.

“My Lords, in that case, I will represent the All Progressives Congress, APC,” governor Lalong responded.