The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu will on Thursday, 7th September 2023, deliver judgement on the petition filed by the House of Reps candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Obiageli Ajih, against the victory of the Labour Party lawmaker representing Igbo Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon. Dennis Agbo.

Hon. Dennis Agbo was declared winner of the keenly contested House of Reps election by the Independent National electoral commission, INEC, after he polled a total of 28,870 votes to defeat his closest rival, Simon Atigwe of the Peoples Democratic party who garnerd 14,221 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, candidate of the APC, Obiageli Ajih, who came distant third in the February 25 House of Reps contest with a total of 961 votes went to the tribunal challenging the declaration of Hon. Dennis Agbo.

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Ajih, in her petition is asking the tribunal to nullify the election and order a rerun on the ground that the name of her party did not appear in the form EC8a (being the declaration sheet).

The three man honourable Justices shall give judgment on the matter tomorrow by 9am.

Hon. Dennis Agbo 

The Labour Party (LP) has expressed dismay and trepidation over the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) led by Justice Haruna Tsammani.

The tribunal had ruled on the petition filed by the party and its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The tribunal had struck out the petition filed against President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, declaring it as incompetent.

Reacting, National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, said justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious.

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“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria,” Ifoh said.

He said that details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with their lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgement is made available to the party.

He also urged all lovers of democracy to remain focused and hopeful because a new Nigeria is possible.

The Presidential Election Petitions Court on Wednesday described as “unmeritorious”, the petitions of the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, claiming that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was not duly elected during the February 25, 2023 poll.

On the contention by LP that Tinubu ought not to be declared winner of the election because he scored less than 25 per cent votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast, the Tribunal held that the argument is “ridiculous”.

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The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani considered the directive of state policy and the preamble of the constitution that provides for the equality of citizens and held that by the provisions of Section 134 (2a) of the constitution, and without any form of equivocation, “scoring 25 percent in the FCT in a presidential election is not mandatory and this issue was also resolved against the petitioner and in favour of the respondent”.

The court subsequently declared LP’s petition clearly unmeritorious.

The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Wednesday, sacked the member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency, Hon Amobi Ogah (Labour Party).

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It subsequently ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the certificate of return given to Ogah and issue same to the Petitioner, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The National/State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kano has on Wednesday upheld the victory of member representing Kiru/Bebeji House of Representatives, Abdulmumini Jibrin Kofa at the February 25th, 2023 general election.

The three Panel Judge presided over by Justice Ngozi Flora while delivering it judgment dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressive Congress, APC flag bearer, Muhammad Said Kiru on the ground that he failed to call cogent witnesses to prove disenfranchisement during the conduct of the election.

Justice Flora averred that the documents adduced before the Tribunal by both parties has indicated that the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP candidate, Kofa resigned his position as Executive Secretary of Federal Housing Authority, 30 days before the conduct of the Election against the assertion by the petitioner.

“The Petitioner has failed woefully to prove that there was Electoral malpractices and not in compliance with the provision of Electoral Act, 2022 as amended.

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“This Petitioner is hereby dismissed for lack of merit.

“The sum of N100,000 cost is awarded jointly and severally against the Petitioner in favour of Respondents,” Justice Flora however stated.

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Kogi State has nullified the victory of Senator Abubakar Ohere as the winner of the Kogi Central senatorial election.

The declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the February 25 parliamentary election.

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In a unanimous judgment of the 3-man panel, the tribunal chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, said Ohere’s results were inflated in 9 polling units of Ajaokuta LGA in the said election.

He added that votes of the PDP candidate in the said election was intentional reduced in 9 polling units by the INEC Ward Collation officers.

Justice K. A. Orjiako also stated that 3 other polling units results was deliberately not entered for the PDP candidate in the same LGA.

The tribunal chairman said Natasha results in the 9 polling units of Ajaokuta LGA was 1,073 against the 77 that was recorded by the Ward Collation officers, stressing, that of the APC candidate was inflated to 1,553 against the actual figure of 1,031.

“The Tribunal is also convinced that the petitioner’s 996 votes in polling units 009, 046 and O49 polling units of Ganaja village of Ajaokuta LGA was deliberately not recorded at the Ward Collation centre,” Justice Orjiako held.

The tribunal added that it is not the duty of collation officers to reject results submitted by presiding officers from polling units in election that followed the electoral guidelines substantially.

He added that “the issues raised by the petitioner is hereby resolved in favour of the petitioners and after making the proper correction, Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan (PDP) having polled 54,074 against Abubakar Ohere (APC) who polled 51,291 is hereby declared the authentic winner.”

The tribunal, therefore, subsequently ordered the 3rd respondent (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of returns issued to Ohere and issue same to the PDP Candidate.

However, the court chided INEC for deliberately going out of its mandate of conducting a free and fair election by conniving with political parties to subvert the will of the people.

The tribunal therefore ordered INEC to pay N500,000 to the PDP candidate for ‘subverting justice’ in the Senatorial election.

In his response, Johnson Usman (SAN) , counsel to Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan, said the judgment has now validated the true winner of the Central Senatorial District election.

“This is victory for people of Kogi Central Senatorial district, victory for Kogi on general and victory for the election processes”, he said .

The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, has dismissed the allegation that President Bola Tinubu was convicted in the United States of America, USA, on a drug trafficking related charge.

The court, in its lead judgement in the joint petition that was filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, held that evidence before it established that the $460, 000 fine that was imposed on Tinubu in the US, was in a civil matter.

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It held that such fine did not translate to a criminal conviction that was capable of warranting Tibubu’s disqualification from contesting the presidential election that held on February 25.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, who led the five-member panel, held that a careful perusal of exhibits that were adduced before the court, showed that the case that led to the fine that was awarded against President Tinubu, “was in the civil docket” of the court in the US.

He held that contrary to the contention of the Petitioners, the case, was a civil forfeiture proceeding against funds that were in the bank and not an action that was against Tinubu as a person.

He described such civil forfeiture proceeding as a unique remedy that is targeted at a property and not the owner.

More so, the court held that Obi and the LP failed to show that Tinubu was indicted, arraigned, tried or convicted for any criminal offence in the USA.

The court further noted that following a letter the Inspector General of Police wrote in 2003, the American Embassy, confirmed that there was no criminal record against Tinubu in its centralized information center.

It held that both the letter from the IGP and the response from the US Embassy, were public documents that are admissible in evidence.

The court maintained that the Petitioners did not produce any evidence to establish that Tinubu was tried and convicted for an offence involving of dishonesty.

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has rejected, a copy of the report on the last presidential election made by the European Union (EU) Election Observers Mission tendered by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP).

The court held that the document was obtained by the petitioners from its registry, which was certified by its staff who is not a person with original custody of the document that was produced by the EU mission.

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Recall that the actual copy of the report was earlier tendered by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while prosecuting their petition before the court.

The court also rejected the 18088 blurred results sheets tendered by the petitioners on the grounds that they were not tied to any polling units to which the results related, which the petitioners failed to specify in their petition.

The court held that the petitioners lied that they could not identify the polling units because the result sheets were blurred. It noted that one of the same petitioners’ witnesses actually produced a report in which he analysed the same results, which he claimed to have sourced from INEC’s results viewing platform.

It further noted that having admitted that its agents signed for and collected copies of the result sheets, the petitioners cannot claim not to know the polling units affected, but merely chose not to specify the polling units in their petition.

The Presidential Election Petition Court has said it is irrelevant that President Bola Tinubu failed to score 25% of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Peter Obi and the Labour Party had prayed the court to declare him as the candidate that secured the majority of the lawful votes cast with the required constitutional spread of not less than 25% of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

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But in its ruling on Wednesday, the court held that it is irrelevant.

It agrees with the argument of the respondent that “the FCT does not enjoy a special status and that Abuja is inhabited by Nigerians and that Abuja does not enjoy any special privilege.”

“It was observed as irrelevant,” it held.

Earlier the court said Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) failed to prove anomalies in their petition against President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.