The tribunal, in a statement on Monday, announced it would on Wednesday deliver judgment on the petitions challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The tribunal justices who will deliver the verdict on Wednesday are the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani; Justice Stephen Adah of the Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf , Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justices Moses Ugo (Court of Appeal, Kano) and Abba Mohammed of the Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal.
In the 2023 poll, the former Lagos State governor polled 8.8 million to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, who scored 6.9 million, Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, who polled 6.1 million votes, and 15 other candidates.
However, five of the 18 political parties that participated in the elections turned to the court to contest the declaration by the electoral body.
Leading the charge against Tinubu’s electoral triumph are Atiku and Obi who have asked the tribunal to nullify the ex-Lagos governor’s victory in the February 25 presidential election.
Besides the PDP and the LP, other aggrieved parties included the Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement.
In the course of the tribunal proceedings, the five-member panel headed by Justice Tsammani dismissed the petitions of the AA and the APP.
The dismissal was a sequel to a formal withdrawal of the petitions by the parties.
Atiku in his 66-page petition urged the court to cancel the election and order a fresh poll due to alleged irregularities that marred the exercise in thousands of polling units.
The ex-vice president in his joint petition with the PDP marked: CA/PEPC/05/2023, applied for the withdrawal of the certificate of return that was issued to Tinubu by INEC.
He maintained that the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election was “invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
Atiku further argued that Tinubu’s election was invalid because of corrupt practices and prayed the court to nullify his election and declare him the winner of the presidential election, having secured the second-highest number of lawful votes cast in the election.
He insisted that the APC candidate did not meet the constitutional threshold and “is constitutionally disabled from contesting for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
However, in a reply he filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Tinubu questioned the legal competence of the petition.
He described Atiku as a consistent serial loser who had since 1993 crisscrossed different political parties in search of power.
Obi in his petition argued that the election was flawed by irregularities, citing also the alleged non-qualification of Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, to contest the election.
He also alleged that Tinubu failed to win a majority of lawful votes and also one-quarter of lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory.
He alleged that the election was conducted in substantial non-compliance with the provision of the law.
On August 1, the panel reserved judgment after the PDP, the LP, and the APM had adopted their final written addresses.
Speaking on the security arrangement made to forestall the likelihood of a breakdown of law and order on the judgment day, Gusau explained that the Guards Brigade and Army Headquarters Garrison in collaboration with other security agencies would not fold their arms and allow anyone to foment trouble.
Asked if the security forces would allow protests by those who might be dissatisfied with the tribunal verdict, Gusau said, “We have been maintaining peace and security in collaboration with other security agencies across the country.
‘’In Abuja, we have the Guards Brigade and the Army Headquarters Garrison in conjunction with other security agencies that have been on the ground to provide security in the FCT.
“We will continue to do our own work, and if anybody wants to perpetrate any mayhem, we cannot fold our arms and be looking at them. We have to do our job.
‘’On the (judgment) day, we will maintain our normal vigilance in conjunction with other security agencies. We can’t be doing our work and see somebody trying to unleash mayhem and we keep quiet. So, why are we outside (on patrol)?”
Meanwhile, the police authorities have beefed up security across several states in preparation for Wednesday’s judgment.
The Osun State Police Command assured that adequate security measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of lives and property.
The command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, assured “there won’t be a crisis in any part of the state as adequate security measures have been provided.’
“We don’t harbor any fear but we are prepared and we will ensure that lives and property are protected before, during, and after the judgment,” she noted.
