The long-awaited pre-hearing proceeding, which was held at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, was presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani, who gave the assurance that justice would be served dispassionately.
Other members of the five-man panel include Justice Stephen Adah of the Court of Appeal, Asaba Division, Justice Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf, Court of Appeal also of Asaba Division, Justice Boloukuoromo Ugoh of Kano Division and Justice Abba Mohammed of Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal.
Addressing the petitioners and lawyers in the jam-packed courtroom, Tsammani, who is the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, stated, “We are determined to look at the matter dispassionately and give justice to whoever deserves justice.”
He said they would consider the substance of each case over technicalities so that “whoever leaves here will be satisfied that justice has been done.”
He also warned the parties against unnecessary applications that could delay the proceedings.
Tribunal advises lawyers
The jurist stated, “Election matters are time-bound, let us not waste unnecessary time, let us cooperate with each other so that everyone will leave here satisfied.
“Avoid unnecessary technicalities; we are determined to look at all the matters brought before us. Let us look at what is good for our country and avoid time-wasting applications.”
The justice further sought the cooperation of lawyers, saying “Let us avoid making sensational comments or statements.”
Responding to the appeal by the court, the lead counsel to the president-elect, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said the lawyers were ready to cooperate with the court.
“We are not unmindful of our responsibilities as members of the bar. I want to assure your Lordships of our unflinching support. Whatever the court wants to do to accelerate the matters, we are ready to give the court our support,’’ he pledged.
Similarly, the counsel to the Labour Party, Levy Uzoukwu, SAN, and Chris Uche, SAN, for the Peoples Democratic Party, pledged their support to the court.
Five political parties and their candidates are challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election on the grounds of non-compliance with the electoral laws as well as the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Dissatisfied with the declaration of the former Lagos State governor as the winner of the presidential election by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and three others dragged the commission, the APC and Tinubu to the PEPC.
After acknowledging the promised cooperation of the lawyers, the presiding judge announced that only the first three petitions would be considered during the pre-hearing while the 4th and 5th petitions “can take off tomorrow (today).’’
The petitions include CA/PEPC/01/2023 filed by the Action Alliance and its standard bearer, Solomon Okanigbuan; CA/PEPC/02/2023 lodged by the Action People’s Party as the sole petitioner; and CA/PEP/03/2023 by the LP and its presidential candidate, Obi.
Tsammani explained that the cases would be alternated until the pre-hearing comes to an end. “Then we will alternate until we finish the pre-hearing,” he further said.
The court subsequently adjourned for a few hours during which the LP standard bearer walked into the courtroom.
At the resumed sitting, the court dismissed the petition by the Action Alliance challenging Tinubu’s victory.
The court’s decision was sequel to a motion moved by the petitioner’s lawyer, Oba Maduabuchi, SAN, which sought to withdraw the petition.
The petitioners had contended that their candidate, Okanigbuan, was excluded from the list uploaded on the portal of the INEC.
Lawyers to the respondents did not object to the withdrawal, following which Tsammani, in a ruling, dismissed the petition.
The petition had as respondents the INEC, the All Progressives Congress, Tinubu and Hamza Al-Mustapha.
There was, however, a mild drama during the announcement of appearances by the parties.
Okanigbuan was in court and the AA was represented by the chairman of the party, Adekunle Omo-Aje, but moves by the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, to present himself as Tinubu’s representative was rejected by the court which ruled that he cannot represent Tinubu, but the APC.
There was also confusion as Maduabuchi and Malachi Umuebe both announced their appearance for the AA.
But maintaining his stance as the representative of the party, Maduabuchi sought the order of the court to withdraw the petition in its entirety which was granted.
Following the withdrawal and consequent dismissal of the AA’s petition, the court scheduled the pre-hearing of the petitions from the PDP and Allied Peoples Movement for Tuesday (today) while the petition of the Labour Party and its presidential candidate was adjourned to Wednesday.
The panel asked all the parties to identify the issues they would be objecting to before the next pre-hearing session.
