Again, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPC) sitting in Abuja has adjourned the petition of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi against President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
The petition has been adjourned to Saturday, May 20.
With just nine days left to the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president of Nigeria, some persons are beginning to become suspicious of the judiciary.
Will the Tribunal continue to adjourn the case until after the inauguration?
Nigerians are beginning to question the turn out of events.
Back And Forth
Peter Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential election, is challenging the victory of Tinubu, claiming the alleged irregularities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had aided him.
Nigerians as well as opposition parties (LP and PDP) had urged the Tribunal to air the court proceedings live.
According to them, this will aide transparency and would also restore the lost glory of the judiciary.
The five-member PEPC, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, decided to defer its ruling on the application made by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) for the live streaming of court proceedings.
For Tsammani, the ruling on the motion for the televised broadcast would be done on Monday, May 22.
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The lawyer representing Obi and the LP, Awa Kalu (SAN) pleaded the court to grant the application in the interest of the public’s right to access information.
Counter Affidavits
Sadly, in Nigeria’s system, wherever an opposition takes a stand on something, the other side will surely differ on it.
What we cannot tell is why INEC will kick against the live viewing of the proceedings.
Rejecting the request, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Wole Olanipekun (SAN), representing Bola Tinubu, and Kashim Shettima, and Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), presented their counter affidavits and pleaded with the court to reject the application.
They argue that the application lacked merit and would serve as a distraction to the court.
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The court further adjourned the pre-hearing to Saturday, May 20, 2023, in order to allow Muslims to observe their prayers.
