PEPC consolidates Obi, Atiku, APM petitions, fixes May 30 to commence trial

.Tinubu, APC snub media

 .Don’t ruin this profession,  tribunal cautions lawyers on secret recordings

Chigozie Ikpo, Abuja

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), Abuja on Tuesday granted Mr. Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) three weeks to prove their case challenging the outcome of the 2023 election.

Similarly, the court gave Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) three weeks while the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) got one week to prove their cases.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, reading the the trial schedule on behalf of the five-member panel of the tribunal, said trial on all petitions will begin on May 30 and end June 23 and includes saturdays.

Recall that the LP legal team had requested for seven weeks to prosecute their case; However, the Court reduced the number to three weeks so as to manage time and meet up with the statutory 180 days as required by the law.

Justice Tsammani also ruled that all the three petitions before the court will be consolidated to one, in line with Paragraph 50 of the the first schedule of the Electoral Act 2022 since they all relate to the same election and return.

The court granted 30 minutes for examination of Star witnesses who are to testify in the case, 20 minutes for cross examination and 5 minutes for re-examination and barred oral examination of other witnesses but held that that they will only adopt their written statements.

The three remaining petitioners anchored their petitions on grounds such as irregularities, substantial non-compliance as well as corrupt practices etc, upon which they are asking the court to set aside the declaration of Tinubu as winner of the election.

In addition, both LP and PDP are faulting INEC’s return of Tinubu on the grounds that Tinubu did not score 25% of lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory  (FCT).

Meanwhile, Tinubu and APC has disclosed their intention not to speak with the media any further on the court proceedings.

A senior lawyer in the team of Tinubu and the APC, Chief Niyi Akintola informed the court that “we have agreed on this side that no lawyer will speak with the press on the proceedings”.

According to Akintola, the about 38 SANs representing Tinubu and the APC took the decision recently in one of their meetings.

Furthermore, the Court shed light on its decision to bar the use of mobile phones and other gadgets in the courtroom during proceedings.

Justice Tsammani decried the behaviour of some persons who are in the habit of sneaking in mobile devices and spy cameras, to record proceedings of the petition tribunal.

He said the court is not acting out of the blue, but in line with the information given by the security team of the court.

“We have a responsibility to protect this profession which is our primary responsibility, let us not ruin this profession.

“We are aware that some people are recording what we do here, but that is your business. We have a responsibility to God for whatever action we have taken and all of us will give account of what we have done, alone.

“We are all ministers in the temple of justice, therefore, let us behave in a reasonable manner.”