The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has rejected the request by the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, for a live broadcast of proceedings of his petition against the election and declaration of President-elect Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the 2023 Presidential Election.
The court held that the request was novel and not supported by any law in the country so far.
The five-man panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, who delivered the unanimous decision of the panel said that the request was not rooted from the petition Atiku filed before the court.
Justice Tsammani also said that the request was capable of turning the court to a stadium, cinema house or a market square, and that such must not be allowed for now.
Besides, Justice Tsammani held that granting live broadcast of the proceedings of the petition would not add any totalitarian value to the petition.
Justice Tsammani held that the petition was without merit and subsequently dismissed it.
Atiku had approached the court against the outcome of the February 25 presidential polls for an order, allowing live broadcast of the day-to-day proceedings regarding his petition because of its monumental importance.
Atiku and the PDP in the application specifically prayed the court for “an order directing the court’s registry and the parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.”
