The court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday granted the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 election, Messrs Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi the permission to inspect election materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the poll.
The permission was sequel to two separate ex parte applications filed by Atiku and Obi, who came second and third respectively in the presidential election in which Mr. Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared as the winner.
The plaintiffs alleged that there was substantial non-compliance with the electoral act in addition to violence and rigging which they claimed marred the conduct and outcome of the election.
INEC, Tinubu and APC are respondents in the matter.
Atiku’s application was dated March 1, while Obi’s was dated March 2.
Arguing the motion, Atiku’s lawyer, Mr. Adedamola Faloku, in prayed the court to grant the ex-parte application brought before it pursuant to Section 146 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, Paragraph 47 (1, 2 &3) of the first Schedule of the Electoral Act of 2022 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court as referenced by Section 6 (6) A & B of the 1999 Constitution.
The application which was predicated on six grounds, sought for seven reliefs, adding that a schedule of the documents to interrogate the respondent (INEC) was also contained in the application supported by a 12 paragraph affidavit.
Counsel to the applicant adopted all the averments contained in the affidavit and urged the Court to grant the application.
In the other application, Obi’s lawyer, Mr. Alex Ejeseme, also prayed the appellate court to grant the reliefs sought in the motion ex parte in the interest of justice.
He stated that the motion was brought pursuant to Section 86 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended Section 146 of the Electoral Act 2022 and paragraphs 47 (1 and 54) of the first Schedule of the Electoral Act 2022 under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court.
Ejeseme also informed the Court that they had depose a 15 paragraphs affidavit and are relying on all the averments therein in urging the court to grant the application.
After listening to the applicants, the presiding judge, Justice, Joseph Ikyegh granted the request of the two applicants.
Recall that INEC had, in the wee hours of Wednesday, March 1, declared Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election.
INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu who announced the results said Tinubu got 8,794,726 votes while Atiku and Obi received 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes respectively..
Meanwhile, the president-elect said he had assembled a legal team argue his case.
He also announced that he would file a cross-petition against Obi alleging that the LP candidate rigged the poll which gave him such a figure.
The minister of state, labour and employment, and chief spokesperson of the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council PCC, Mr. Festus Keyamo disclosed this at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.
“We have constituted our legal team and I am part of it. We have volunteers who are SANs. We are going to file a cross-petition to cancel the votes of LP in virtually all the southeast states. We are going to court too.
“If you look at results from the southeast, there was one incident where the results from a whole ward were filled using one hand writing. What it means is that they accredited people and asked them to go home and then thumb printed for them. He imported his rigging machine into Lagos State. Go and look at the results from Festac,” Keyamo.
