On Monday (May 8, 2023), the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja dismissed one of the five petitions contesting Bola Tinubu’s victory in the election on February 25.
The case was dismissed by a five-member court panel under the direction of Haruna Tsammani after the petitioner’s attorney declared its withdrawal.
The court called for a hearing on the first of the five petitions it had received.
Earlier, the court convened its first sitting, during which it reassured all parties involved in the case that it would treat them fairly.
In response, attorneys pledged their commitment to working with the court.
After the formal court opening, the panelists took a brief break before reconvening to start hearing AA’s argument.
When the party’s case was called, there was a misunderstanding regarding the party’s legal counsel.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oba Maduabuchi, made the initial announcement of the AA party’s appearance. Malachi Umuebe, another attorney, also made a party appearance announcement.
Insisting that he was the party’s attorney, Mr. Maduabuchi.
Since Mr. Umuebe did not submit the petition to the court, the court disregarded him.
Shortly after the judge acknowledged Mr. Maduabuchi, the attorney stated the case was being dropped.
The attorneys for the respondents, Mr. Tinubu’s counsel Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), represented by Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, indicated they had no objections to the petition’s withdrawal request.
The petition was then rejected by the court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly refused to post the name of the Action Alliance’s true presidential candidate, Solomon-David Okanigbuan, on its portal for the February election, leading the Action Alliance to ask the court to annul the results.
Adekunle Omo-Aje, the Action Alliance’s national chairman, said in January that Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was recognized by INEC, was not the party’s official presidential candidate.
He spoke as his party was roiled by a leadership conflict that led to the emergence of two presidential contenders.
