The absence of a witness has prevented Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from opening its case in the petition filed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, and his party, challenging the declaration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the 2023 Presidential Election.
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja had last week adjourned until Monday 3rd July for the electoral body, which is the first respondent in the petition to open its defence of the February 25 presidential election, which it conducted.
When the petition was called on Monday, lead counsel to the INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, told the court that the first defendant has three days to defend the outcome of the February 25, 2023 Presidential Election.
He informed the court that the electoral body has three witnesses to present in its case and regretted that the witness slated to give evidence on Monday was not in court and asked for an adjournment until Tuesday for the INEC to open its case in the joint petition by Obi and his party against Tinubu’s election.
The request for adjournment was not opposed by counsels to the petitioners and President Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima and the APC, who are listed as second to fourth respondents in the petition.
Consequently, the five-member panel of justices of the court, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned further proceedings in the petition until Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
Obi and his party had on Friday, June 28 closed their case in their petition challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 Presidential Election.
Obi and the Labour Party have presented 13 witnesses and tendered several documents to prove their allegations that the presidential election was conducted in gross violation of the constitution, Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines for the conduct of the disputed election.
The vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, attended the court session.
