Tribunal adjourns judgment in Obi, LP petition, to communicate date to parties

The presidential election petitions tribunal has reserved judgment in the suit filed by Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

Obi who came third in the election and his party had filed a joint petition in March challenging the outcome of the February 25 poll.

They are asking the court to nullify the victory of Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In their final written address dated July 20, the petitioners insisted that Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were not qualified to contest the poll.

The petitioners had said Tinubu was not eligible to run for the office of president due to the forfeiture of $460,000 in the US and his failure to secure 25 percent of votes cast in the federal capital territory (FCT).

The petitioners closed their case on June 23 after calling 13 witnesses.

At the court session on Tuesday, the petitioners as well as the respondents adopted their final written addresses

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) legal team led by Abubakar Mahmoud prayed the court to dismiss the petition.

“We humbly submit that this petition is lacking in merit and should be dismissed,” Mahmoud said.

Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Tinubu and Shettima, as well as Lateef Fagbemi, representative of the APC, also prayed the court to dismiss the petitioners’ case.

The five-member panel of justices led my Harunna Tsammani reserved judgment adding that a date would be communicated to parties.