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BREAKING: Presidential Election Court Adjourns Atiku, PDP, APM Cases To May 11
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, adjourned the pre-hearing session in respect of the petition filed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election. Continue Reading>>>
Similarly, the PEPC adjourned the petition marked CA/PEPC/04/2023, filed by Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, and Kabiru Masari.
Earlier at the pre-hearing session, counsel to the APM, O. M Alayibi, as well as lawyers to INEC, Tinubu, APC and the other respondents, all confirmed to the PEPC that they had filed answers to the questions contained in the pre-hearing information sheet made available to them.
The PEPC also mentioned the petition by Atiku and PDP against INEC, Tinubu, and the APC marked CA/ PEPC/05/2023, with the PDP represented by its Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagun.
The INEC was represented by Mrs. May Agbamuche Mbu, National Commissioner in charge of Legal Services.
Chief Chris Uche (SAN) announced appearance for the petitioners; the 1st respondent, INEC, was represented by Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN); Akin Olujimi (SAN) announced legal representation for the 2nd respondent (Tinubu), while Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) represented the APC (3rd respondent).
Uche told the court that the petitioners filed their pre-hearing information sheet on April 27.
He, therefore, adopted and relied on the said pre-hearing information sheet and the answers contained therein in the pre-hearing session.
In addition to the answers in the petitioners’ form, Uche informed the court that they have a motion filed on May 7, but dated May 5, which has been served on all the respondents and requires immediate attention of the court.
“It is an innocuous and harmless application which seeks an order of the court granting our request for live broadcast of proceedings of the PEPC”, Uche stated.
He prayed for hearing of the motion as soon as the main hearing of the petition begins.
On behalf of INEC, Mahmoud said his pre-hearing information sheet dated April 30 was filed on May 2.
He adopted all responses in the pre-hearing information sheet.
On the petitioners’ motion, the INEC lawyer said they will need time to respond to the application because it was only served on them on Monday.
“We will inform our client and will provide a formal response to the motion”, Mahmoud said.
Counsel to the 2nd respondent, Olujimi, said they filed answers to questions contained in the pre-hearing sheet on May 3.
He informed the court that they will be filing a preliminary objection seeking the dismissal of the petition.
More so, Olujimi confirmed that he was served with the motion seeking live broadcast of PEPC proceeding, saying they are taking steps to respond appropriately within time allowed by the court.
On his part, Fagbemi, representing APC, said he has also filed his answers on May 2, 2023.
Additionally, “We gave an indication in paragraph 14 of pre-hearing information Form, that we filed two applications, one challenging the competence of the petition, and secondly an application seeking the striking out of the reply of the petitioners.”
Both applications, Fagbemi said were filed on May 8. Continue Reading>>>
Meanwhile, he adopted and relied on the answers as contained in the pre-hearing sheet just as he confirmed receipt of the petitioners “innocuous application” and assured that “you will hear from us within the time allowed by the court”.
After taking submissions of various counsel, Chairman of PEPC, Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned further pre-hearing to Thursday, May 11.