THE Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) has said the Labour Party (LP) Candidate Peter Obi did not show how he secured the majority of lawful votes in the February 25 election.
Justice of the Appeal Court Abba Mohammed, a member of the five-man panel delivering judgment on the petition, disclosed this during the proceedings on Wednesday, September 6.
“They failed to state the number of votes affected and the number of people disenfranchised. The law is very clear that where someone alleged irregularities in a particular polling unit, such person must prove the particular irregularities in that polling unit for him to succeed in his petition. The determination of election is about figures,” he said.
Mohammed also said the party did not prove the allegations of over-voting against the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obi came third in the elections and filed a petition challenging the outcome of the process. He alleged electoral fraud and other irregularities, vowing to prove his position in court.
He called for the nullification of the presidential elections, adding that the APC candidates for the presidency and vice presidency, Bola Tinubu and Kashi Shettima, who emerged victorious at the polls, were not qualified to contest.
However, Appeal Court Judge Haruna Tsammani, who led the panel, said while striking out the co-petitioner Allied Peoples Movement’s (APM) petition that the qualification of candidates was a pre-election issue.
“The issue of qualification or disqualification is a constitutional one. The issue of disqualification or qualification is a pre-election matter. It must be determined before the conduct of the election. This court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter, and even if it does, it is status-barred because it is a pre-election matter,” Tsammani said.
The final judgement has yet to be delivered on the petition by LP as of the time of filing of this report.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.