The legal team of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday said it was denied access to electoral documents by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), despite paying N6 million.

The team is requesting the documents as exhibits, to tender before the presidential election petition tribunal, to prove its case against the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the last election.

Eyitayo Jegede, lead counsel to Abubakar, told the five-man tribunal yesterday that INEC’s refusal to provide the documents is frustrating the PDP candidate’s case.

Jegede had sought to tender results from 10 out of 21 LGAs in Kogi state to prove the former vice-president’s case against Tinubu.

The LGAs whose results were sought to be tendered are Ankpa, Dekina, Idah, Ofu, Olamaboro, Yagba East, Yagba West, Kabba-Bunu, and Igalamela Odolu.

Jegede said the team had to subpoena INEC officials to provide the required documents before the tribunal.

However, Haruna Tsammani, chairman of the tribunal, said the court would have difficulty marking and numbering the documents as exhibits, adding that it was insensitive to tender such sensitive documents piecemeal.

Jegede sought adjournment of the case to enable his team to get the required documents from INEC.

The commission, represented by Abubakar Mahmoud, did not object to Jegede’s request for adjournment.

Also, Wole Olanipekun, Tinubu’s lawyer and Lateef Fagbemi,  counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), did not oppose the request for adjournment of the case.

Tsammani subsequently adjourned the case to June 7.

Tinubu, the standard bearer of the APC, was declared the winner of the February 25 election with 8,794,726 votes.

The outcome of the election is being challenged by Abubakar and Peter Obi, flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP).

Court Dismisses Suit Against Tinubu over 25% FCT Votes

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by five residents of the federal capital territory (FCT), who sought to stop the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president.

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, yesterday, ordered the lawyer representing the five residents to pay the sum of N10 million each to the attorney-general of the federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

Ekwo held that the plaintiffs have no locus standi to file the suit.

The presiding judge also said the suit can only be filed at the presidential election petition tribunal and not the federal high court.

The plaintiffs had averred that Tinubu failed to secure at least 25 percent of votes cast in the FCT.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/578/2023 was filed on April 28.

The plaintiffs — Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffrey Ucheh, Osang Paul and Chibuike Nwanchukwu — sued for themselves and on behalf of other residents and registered voters in the FCT.

They had asked the court to determine “whether or not the person who is to be elected president of the federal republic of Nigeria, and consequently administrator of the FCT through the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority, on the first ballot is required by section 134(2)(b) of the Constitution to obtain at least 25% of the votes cast in the FCT”.

The plaintiffs also wanted a declaration extending former President Buhari’s tenure, while also asking the court to set aside the certificate of return issued to Tinubu and restrain the CJN and any other judicial officer from swearing him in.