The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), located in Abuja, made a significant decision on Tuesday by consolidating three separate petitions that aim to invalidate the results of the 2023 presidential election.
Under the leadership of Justice Haruna Tsammani, a five-member panel of the court unanimously dismissed objections raised by the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against the merging of the petitions.
As maintained by Vanguard, the court recognized that the interconnected nature of the cases necessitated their consolidation and treatment as a single petition, as they all pertain to the same election.
As a result, the court scheduled May 30 for Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, to present his case contesting the outcome of the presidential election held on February 25.
Initially, Obi stated that he would require seven weeks to present his case along with 50 witnesses. However, the court, in its ruling, reduced the timeframe to three weeks. Additionally, the court granted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, five days each to defend the petition.
Similarly, the court allowed the 4th respondent, Kabiru Masari, three days to present his defense.
The court emphasized that the parties involved would submit final briefs of argument on August 5, enabling the court to determine a date for the judgment.
Apart from Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who finished second in the election, and Peter Obi of the LP, who came third, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) also filed a petition challenging the presidential election’s outcome.
Although initially five petitions were filed contesting Tinubu’s victory in the election, the Action Alliance (AA) withdrew its case on May 8, followed by the Action Peoples Party (APP) discontinuing further proceedings on its petition two days later.
Furthermore, the panel led by Justice Tsammani hinted at the possibility of banning lawyers and members of the public from bringing mobile phones into the courtroom on the next adjourned date.
