The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Monday insisted that it will still hear the petition of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), despite the judgment of the Supreme Court which is believed to have resolved issues raised by the petitioners.
The PEPC had adjourned hearing in the APM’s petition pending the availability of the said judgment.
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President Bola Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), had sought to use a Supreme Court judgment delivered on May 26, 2023 to terminate the APM’S petition.
He had on May 30, informed the court of a judgment of the Supreme Court, which according to him, appeared to have resolved the case of the APM.
“We are aware that the Supreme Court gave a decision on this same matter in the yet-to-be-reported judgment SC/CV/501/20223 and the parties involved were Peoples Democratic Party versus INEC and three others where the apex court resolved all the issues,” he submitted.
Responding, APM’s counsel, Shehu Abubakar, then requested for a short time to enable the petitioners avail themselves of the judgment so as to make informed decision.
However, at the next adjourned date of June 2, the said judgment was not available, thereby forcing another adjournment to June 9 and again to June 19.
When the matter came up on Monday, APM’s lawyer, Mr Gideon Idiagbonmian, told the court that the petitioners have access to the said judgment, adding that they are set to call their only witness in the suit, but because of some observations would be asking for a short adjournment.
The adjournment, he said, would enable them obtain a vital document from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which has been missing in the handover file from the previous lawyer.
The lawyer explained that after going through the said judgment, they came to the conclusion that there is life in the petition and urged the court to allow them call in their witness to prove their petition.
However, Olanipekun raised an objection to the hearing of the petition on the grounds that the sole issue raised in the petition of the APM had been resolved by the Supreme Court in a judgment delivered on May 26, 2023.
Other respondents aligned themselves with Olanipekun’s position in urging the court not to entertain the petition any further.
Responding, the presiding justice of the court, Justice Haruna Tsammani, disagreed with the respondents and held that the party cannot be shut out in the face of fair hearing.
The court subsequently fixed June 21 for hearing of the petition.
The APM is one of the three political parties challenging the declaration of President Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The APM’s petition is anchored on the claims that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the February 25 presidential election on the grounds of alleged double nomination of his vice-presidential candidate.