The Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja has scheduled Wednesday for judgements on the three pending cases challenging the outcome of the 25 February presidential election.
It is coming about a month after the court heard the closing arguments of parties to the petitions, and about two weeks to the expiration of the statutory 180-day lifespans within which the cases filed in March must be heard and determined.
The petitions were filed separately by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and a political party, the Allied Peoples Movement, to challenge President Bola Tinubu.
The Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja, which hosts the election petition court, announced the date for the judgements in a statement on Monday.
The much-anticipated judgment will be televised live, according to Umar Bangari, the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, who signed the statement, a move that seeks to satisfy public demand that the court had earlier rejected during the hearing of the petitions.
It read, “The Court of Appeal wishes to inform the General Public that judgment in the following petitions before the Presidential Election Petition Court will be delivered on Wednesday 6th September 2023: CA/PEPC/03/2023 between Mr. Peter Gregory Obi & Anor VS. Independent National Electoral Commission & 3 Ors. CA/PEPC/04/2023 between Allied Peoples Movement VS. Independent National Electoral Commission & 4 Ors. .CA/PEPC/05/2023 between Abubakar Atiku & Anor VS. Independent National Electoral Commission & 2 Ors. In a bid to promote transparency and openness, these judgments will be televised live by interested Television Stations for the public to follow.”
He also said only accredited persons, including counsel and representatives of political parties, would be granted access to the courtroom on judgment day.
“Access to the Court premises will be strictly on accreditation. Only accredited individuals, including Counsel and representatives of Political Parties, will be granted access to the courtroom. Interested members of the public are advised to watch proceedings from their television sets. We appeal for the maximum cooperation of the general public to ensure a hitch-free exercise, please,” the statement added.
Nigeria held the keenly contested presidential election alongside National Assembly polls on 25 February.
The polls were overshadowed by the uproar by the opposition candidates and their political parties alleging fraud in the exercise after the results of the presidential election were announced on 1 March.
Before the close of the three weeks window for filing petitions against the elections, the aggrieved candidates – particularly Atiku and Mr Obi – filed their cases at the presidential election court in with each asking the court to either declare them the winner of the poll or order a fresh poll from which Mr Tinubu should be barred.
There were five petitions at the close of the filing window in March. But two of the petitions were withdrawn before hearing began.
The hearing of the five-member panel of the court led by Haruna Tsammani lasted about three months.
Premium Times/Punch