The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal will hear Peter Obi’s election petitions today.
On Monday, Justice Haruna Tsammani, the tribunal’s presiding justice, scheduled the hearing on the parties’ pre-hearing questions on Obi and LP’s petition.
The tribunal will examine the parties’ compliance with its direction to simplify issues for the main hearing at 2pm.
Similarly, Obi and LP will move for the live broadcast of sessions of the tribunal because, according to them, the petitions are of public importance.
Tinubu wants Atiku’s plea on the dual citizenship issue struck out.
The tribunal scheduled Bola Tinubu’s two motions challenging Atiku’s plea for May 11 yesterday.
In the first motion brought by his counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Tinubu is seeking to strike out some paragraphs in Atiku’s petition where he raised fresh issues, which he said were not pleaded in the original petition, while replying to his preliminary objection.
Atiku claimed that Tinubu forfeited $460,000 “as substituted by a competent authority, a sequel to a compromise agreement, and for narcotics-related crime (proceeds of crime) in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Judge A. Nordberg,” disqualifying him from running for president.
Atiku further stated that Tinubu failed to disclose in his Form EC9 that he holds dual citizenship in Nigeria and Guinea, having freely acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Guinea.
Atiku argued that the grounds for non-qualification are constitutional.
Tinubu, in his second move, also requested the tribunal to dismiss the whole petition seeking the nullification of the election for being a breach of the Electoral Act 2022, submitted by Atiku at the pre-hearing stage for being incompetent.
Tinubu called the petition “vague, non-specific, hazy, inchoate, inept, imprecise, loaded with ambiguity; and liable to be ruled down by the court.”
PDP, Atiku want live coverage.
Still, on Thursday, the tribunal will also hear the motion by Atiku seeking a live broadcast of the proceedings.
Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), called the application “an order directing the court’s registry and parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and equipment into the courtroom.”
Atiku maintained that the motion for a live broadcast of the tribunal’s sessions was upheld by the Nigerian constitution as well as that the topics of the 2023 general elections were of national concern and public interest.
Court fixes May 11 for Tinubu’s motion seeking dismissal of APM’s petition.
Tinubu also filed a motion to dismiss the APM’s pre-hearing petition challenging his election.
On Tuesday, the presiding justice of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, was also appointed on May 11 for the motion hearing.
After the lawyers responded to Form TF 008’s APM petition pre-hearing questions, the panel adjourned the application.
At the proceeding on Tuesday, APM, through its lawyers O. A. Atoyebi (SAN) and S. A. T. Abubakar Esq, informed the tribunal that the party has responded to pre-hearing questions raised by respondents in its petition – INEC, APC, Tinubu, Shettima and Masari. In his response, Fagbemi told the tribunal that he had on May 8 filed two motions challenging APM’s petition, and they are ripe for hearing.
Fagbemi said the APM’s petition had no basis and was worthless.
He stated in the motion that the election being disputed by APM was legitimately conducted, and a clear winner was declared in conformity with the terms of the law.
Similarly, Olujinmi said he had submitted responses on behalf of Tinubu and Shettima on May 3, 2023, adding that the procedures are ready for determination and that he will react at the pre-hearing date.
Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), INEC’s lead counsel, said he answered pre-hearing questions.
Justice Tsammani advised the parties to examine all the applications filed and decide which they would object to and which they wouldn’t before the next pre-hearing session.
In its petition, APM contends that Tinubu is not qualified to contest the 2023 presidential election because he has yet to produce a validly nominated running mate.
APM contends that Shettima was still the nominated senatorial candidate of the APC for Borno Central Senatorial District, Borno State, as of the date he was nominated as the vice presidential candidate on July 14, 2022.
The party contended that despite abandoning his senatorial bid on July 15, 2022, he had infringed the Election Act 2022 via double or triple nominations.
APM and presidential candidate Chichi Ojei also claimed widespread election irregularities.
