The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), Abuja, on Friday, ordered that the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, should be served with copies of petitions seeking to nullify his victory in last month’s election, through substituted means.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that a three-man panel of the court led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, directed that the petitions should be served on Tinubu, through his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Friday’s ruling followed separate ex-parte applications that were brought before the court by the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi respectively.
This newspaper had reported that the duo re-approached the PEPC with ex-parte applications, seeking to be allowed to serve the petitions on Tinubu, through substituted means. They said Tinubu is frustrating their moves.
Consequently, relying on Section 6(6a) and 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act, as well as Paragraph 8 of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act 2022, the petitioners sought the intervention of the Court.
Both Atiku and Obi further supported their ex-parte motions dated Thursday, March 23, with affidavits of urgency and non-service, even as they persuaded the court to hear the applications, outside the pre-hearing session of their substantive petitions.
While Atiku’s application was moved on Friday by his legal team led by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), Obi’s was moved by Ikechukwu Ezechukwu (SAN).
“Having heard the applications by counsel to the petitioners including the affidavit in support, the applications are hereby granted”, the Justice Ikyegh-led panel ruled.
