Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar are challenging the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was declared the President-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
To further their desires of understanding what truly happened during the presidential election that made them trail the winner, the Court of Appeal has granted permission to Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party to serve his petition challenging the February 25 presidential election.
The petition would be served to Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Also, Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been granted similar permission.
Ruling on the application, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, led by Haruna Tsammani, granted Obi’s request.
However, there is a condition on which the petition must be served due to certain issues.
The Condition
The President-elect, Tinubu, has tight security and this might make it impossible for the petition to be served directly.
Therefore the court gave a condition for the petition to be served.
The court ordered that the petition be served on Tinubu and Shettima “by delivering…or pasting the petition” at either the office of the National Legal Adviser of the APC.
Obi and Atiku can also deliver it to any other officer of the APC “at its National Secretariat” in Abuja.
In the ex parte application filed by Mr Obi, he made a note that led to this condition.
Mr Obi noted that the bailiff of the Court of Appeal made “unsuccessful attempts to serve the petition personally on” Mr Tinubu and Shettima.
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Mr Obi’s lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu, a SAN, told the panel that the bailiff of the court had made “unsuccessful attempts” to serve the petition.
He argued that since Tinubu was announced as the winner of the 2023 poll on March 1, he had relocated from his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Tinubu reportedly relocated “to the Defence Guest House Maitama, Abuja from where he will function until he is sworn-in”.
He added that the “increased security presence” around Tinubu makes it difficult to serve his petitions on him.
