Abuja – In a significant development, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja has consolidated three separate petitions aimed at nullifying the outcome of the highly contested 2023 presidential election. The consolidation was announced on Tuesday by a five-member panel of the court, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani. Dismissing objections raised by President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the court unanimously ruled in favor of merging the petitions.
Justice Tsammani emphasized that the nature of the cases demanded consolidation, as they all pertained to the same election. Consequently, May 30 has been set as the date for Mr. Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), to present his case against the presidential election’s outcome, which took place on February 25.
Initially, Obi had requested a seven-week period to present his case, including 50 witnesses. However, the court reduced the allotted time to three weeks. Additionally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, were granted five days each to defend the petition. The court also allowed Kabiru Masari, the 4th respondent in the case, three days to present his defense.
To ensure a timely resolution, the court stipulated that the parties would submit final briefs of argument on August 5, after which a date for the judgment would be determined.
Apart from Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured second place in the election, and Peter Obi of the LP, who came third, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) also filed a petition challenging the election’s outcome.
Initially, five petitions were lodged against Tinubu’s victory. However, the Action Alliance (AA) withdrew its case on May 8, and the Action Peoples Party (APP) followed suit two days later, discontinuing their proceedings.
In a related development, the panel, led by Justice Tsammani, hinted at the possibility of banning both lawyers and members of the public from entering the courtroom with mobile phones on the next adjourned date. This measure aims to maintain the sanctity and integrity of the proceedings.
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