However, he requested a one-week adjournment to obtain a vital document from the Independent National Electoral Commission.
By Johnson Atoukudu:
The attempt to dismiss the Allied Peoples Movement’s petition challenging President Bola Tinubu’s qualification was rejected by the Presidential Election Petition Court. This decision came after the Supreme Court had previously ruled on a similar matter brought before the PEPC.
During the court proceedings on May 30, Tinubu’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun, informed the court about a judgment from the Supreme Court that seemed to have resolved the same issue raised by the APM. Olanipekun referred to the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, which sought to nullify the ticket that produced the president and his vice, Kassim Shettima, on the grounds of double nomination.
Olanipekun questioned whether the Supreme Court’s decision would affect the APM’s case, which also challenged the election outcome based on the use of a placeholder, Kabir Masari, for the elected vice-president, Kassim Shettima.
During the hearing of the petition on Monday, the APM’s counsel, G.A. Ijiagbonya, expressed their intention to proceed with the case despite Olanipekun’s reminder of the Supreme Court’s judgment. Ijiagbonya stated that he had obtained the Supreme Court judgment intended to terminate the APM’s petition, but after reviewing it with his legal team, they insisted on continuing with the petition. However, he requested a one-week adjournment to obtain a vital document from the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In response, the chairman of the five-man panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, stated that the party should not be denied a fair hearing and instructed Tinubu to raise objections against the petition during the final address stage of the court’s proceedings.
The APC, represented by counsel Charles Edosomwen, also raised similar objections to the petition on the same grounds, but the PEPC rejected them for the same reason.
In a brief ruling, Justice Tsammani scheduled the hearing of the petition for Wednesday, June 21.
The APM, through its legal team, announced their intention to present their case and conclude it on the same day. They also stated that they would call one private witness to testify in support of the petition against Tinubu.
