The Abuja division of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, the venue of the
Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) hearing, was a bustling hive of
activity during the week as opposition parties began their legal journey to
overturn the election of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Just to provide a little
background, you'd recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate winner of the
February 25 election to the disagreement of his main rivals, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter
Obi of the Labour Party.
The duo and three other political
parties namely the Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and the
Allied Peoples Movement (APM) approached the PEPT where they submitted
petitions detailing their argument on why Tinubu's victory should be nullified.
On Monday, May 8, 2023, proceedings eventually served off at the tribunal and here are some interesting developments that were recorded after the first week of sitting.
AA and APP withdrew petitions
against Tinubu
Things really got off to a good
start for the President-elect right on the first day of proceedings as one of
the petitioners, the Action Alliance party, surprisingly informed the
tribunal of its intention to withdraw its petition without stating any
explanation.
Similarly, counsel to the APP, Obed Agu, also informed the
tribunal of the party's decision to withdraw its case against Tinubu on the
third day of sitting. The announcement prompted the presiding justice, Justice Haruna Tsammani, to dismiss
APP's case in a brief ruling.
Obi and Atiku's appearances in
court
On the opening day of the
hearing, Obi showed up in court amid cheers from his supporters online. The
Labour Party candidate was pictured in the courtroom exchanging pleasantries
with his legal representatives and party faithful.
He went back again for a second
time on Wednesday but a mild drama ensued after a photo surfaced online showing
Obi and an APC Chieftain, Ade
Omole, in court.
Footages from the court later
revealed that while Obi was being cheered by supporters as he made his entry,
Omole, who was already seated before the former's arrival, looked unimpressed
as he maintained a straight face while the former governor tried to locate a
seat near him.
Like Obi, the PDP presidential
candidate also graced the tribunal on Thursday accompanied by supporters and
well-wishers alike. Atiku appeared on the day the tribunal had fixed to hear
his plea that proceedings should be televised.
Atiku and Obi's requests for
proceedings to be televised
Another development that caught
the eyes at the tribunal was the arguments put forward by Atiku and Obi asking
the tribunal to allow subsequent proceedings to be televised live to Nigerians
and the global audience who have taken interest in Nigeria's electoral process.
In separate motions filed by
their lawyers, the duo argued that the electorate in the 36 states of the
Federation who participated in the just concluded presidential polls deserve to
be kept up to date with events at the tribunal.
Obi's lawyers ask for an
adjournment
In what may have come as a
surprise to some people, lawyers representing the Labour Party candidate asked
the court to defer further proceedings on their petition against Tinubu to
another date.
Having informed counsels to the
APC, Tinubu, and INEC that they needed more time to file and exchange necessary
legal documents, Obi's lawyer at the resumed hearing on Thursday immediately
asked the court to adjourn the case.
After listening to all the parties
involved in the matter, Justice Tsammani-led's five-member panel acceded to the
adjournment request and fixed May 17 for the continuation of the hearing.
Obi was caught napping.... or
not
Away from the matters of
petitions, a photo surfaced online on the first day of sitting, showing Obi
taking a power nap in court - or otherwise - before proceedings commenced.
Although from the still image, it
can be deduced that the 61-year-old politician had dozed off but his supporters
accused their ruling party counterparts of misrepresentation arguing that Obi
actually lowered his gaze and strained his eyes to peep into his phone.
There was no video recording of
that moment out there so no one can really tell what actually happened.
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