The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) has been conducting hearings since Tuesday, May 30, to address petitions challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 presidential election. The petitioners include the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi; and the Allied Peoples' Movement (APM). The respondents in the case are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, and the APC.
According to the results declared by INEC, President Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes, while Atiku Abubakar received 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi garnered 6,101,533 votes. This presidential election marked the debut of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), an electronic system used for voter accreditation and result transmission to the INEC server, along with the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
The proceedings at the tribunal have been closely followed by Channels Television correspondents Emmanuela Ekele, Friday Okeregbe, and Lucky Obewo-Isawode, who provide the latest updates on the developments.
In the most recent update, at 12:27 pm, the counsel representing the Allied Peoples' Movement (APM) requested an adjournment, citing the inability to access the Supreme Court judgment that caused the previous adjournment. The respondents did not oppose the application, and the court granted the adjournment until Monday, June 19, for further hearing.
Earlier in the day, at 12:15 pm, the petition filed by the APM challenging President Tinubu's victory was presented to the court. The petitioner's counsel, Yakubu Maikasuwa, informed the court that the parties had not yet obtained the Supreme Court judgment related to a similar matter, despite the previous adjournment. Maikasuwa requested an adjournment until Friday to allow the parties to access the judgment and make informed decisions. The APM is challenging Tinubu's electoral victory based on the alleged double nomination of his running mate, Kashim Shettima.
During the proceedings, the PDP called three additional witnesses, and the lead counsel appealed for an adjournment until Saturday, as Monday was a public holiday. The application was granted, and the court adjourned the petition until 10 am on Saturday, June 10, for the continuation of the hearing.
The witnesses called by the petitioners have provided testimony regarding their experiences during the presidential election. They discussed various aspects such as the operation of the BVAS machine, the voter accreditation process, voting, sorting and counting of votes, and the upload of results to the INEC server. Some witnesses mentioned encountering difficulties during the uploading process.
The hearings on Friday, June 9, began at 9:33 am, with the continuation of the case of Atiku Abubakar versus INEC, Tinubu, and the APC. The petitioner was expected to present more witnesses in support of their case. The court session also involved the petitions filed by the Labour Party and Peter Obi challenging President Tinubu's election, which were set to be heard later in the day.
The court adjourned the hearing of the PDP's petition until the following day, as the counsel to INEC, Tinubu, and the APC objected to the calling of witnesses whose statements had not been presented to the court. They requested time to review the statements before proceeding
.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal continues to provide a platform for the petitioners and respondents to present their arguments and evidence regarding the disputed presidential election. The outcome of these proceedings will play a crucial role in determining the validity of President Bola Tinubu's victory in the February 25 election.
