Ahead of the impending judgment delivery by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja scheduled for Wednesday, both the military and the police have issued stern warnings against any unlawful activities by troublemakers.
The Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, issued a caution to those contemplating acts of violence on that day, urging them to abandon such plans.
The tribunal, in an announcement made on Monday, revealed its intention to deliver the judgment on the petitions challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
On March 1, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, declared Tinubu the president-elect due to his party’s majority of votes in the poll.
The tribunal’s panel of justices scheduled to render the verdict on Wednesday includes Justice Haruna Tsammani (Chairman), Justice Stephen Adah of the Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf (Court of Appeal, Asaba Division), Justices Moses Ugo (Court of Appeal, Kano), and Abba Mohammed (Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal).
In the 2023 election, Tinubu secured 8.8 million votes, defeating the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who garnered 6.9 million votes, as well as Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who received 6.1 million votes, among 15 other candidates.
However, five out of the 18 political parties that participated in the election contested the INEC’s declaration in court. Leading the challenge against Tinubu’s electoral victory are Atiku and Obi, who have called on the tribunal to annul Tinubu’s win in the February 25 presidential election.
Aside from the PDP and LP, the other aggrieved parties include the Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement.
During the tribunal proceedings, the five-member panel led by Justice Tsammani dismissed the petitions of the Action Alliance and the Action People’s Party following their formal withdrawals.
Atiku, in his 66-page petition, requested the court to annul the election and order a fresh poll due to alleged irregularities in thousands of polling units. In his joint petition with the PDP, he also applied for the withdrawal of the certificate of return issued to Tinubu by INEC. Atiku argued that Tinubu’s election was invalid due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, and corrupt practices.
In his response, Tinubu questioned the legal competence of Atiku’s petition, referring to him as a consistent serial loser who has changed political parties frequently in pursuit of power since 1993.
Peter Obi’s petition argued that the election was marred by irregularities and questioned Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima’s qualifications to run for the election. Obi also alleged that Tinubu failed to secure a majority of lawful votes and one-quarter of lawful votes in the Federal Capital Territory, claiming that the election was conducted with substantial non-compliance with the law.