The Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja has granted the request of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), for a three-week period to call upon 100 witnesses in support of his case challenging the validity of Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election.
PulseNets reports that in a pre-hearing report presented on Tuesday by Justice Haruna Tsammani, the head of the five-member panel, it was revealed that 166 witnesses would testify in this matter.
The report emphasised that key witnesses in the petition would be allowed to present their written depositions, make oral submissions, and identify relevant documents as necessary.
While the court granted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) two days to present its defence, it provided a five-day period each for the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to respond to the petition.
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Justice Stephen Adah, who read the pre-hearing report, also noted that Atiku’s petition had been consolidated with the ones filed by Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Earlier, this newspaper reported that the court had deemed the consolidation of the three petitions necessary to ensure fairness and justice, with the parties set to present their final briefs of argument, after which a date for judgment will be determined.
