The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja has ruled against the petition filed by Peter Gregory Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. The tribunal, presided over by Justice Abba Mohammed, declared the petition to be greatly incompetent and defective beyond repair.
The ruling, which came after numerous objections were raised against the petition, led to the striking out of several paragraphs deemed vague, incompetent, inconsistent, nebulous, and self-contradictory. The tribunal's decision primarily hinged on the petition's failure to specify allegations as required by the law.
Obi's petition, which alleged malpractices, irregularities, and corruption in the presidential election held on February 25, failed to provide specific details regarding the number of lawful votes he claimed to have won, despite asserting that he secured the highest number of lawful votes.
Furthermore, the tribunal noted that Obi mentioned the involvement of forensic experts but failed to include the related report with the petition or serve it to the respondents. This omission weakened his case significantly.
Obi's claim that his votes were suppressed in favor of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was also criticized for its lack of specificity, as he did not provide any figures to substantiate his allegation.
Regarding allegations of vote inflation in favor of Tinubu, the tribunal pointed out that Obi did not mention the number of votes in question, making the claim untenable.
Justice Mohammed emphasized that not every allegation of corruption qualifies as corrupt practices, highlighting the importance of specific averments in legal pleadings.
The tribunal stressed that in cases where irregularities are alleged at specific polling units, as in Obi's petition, it is essential to provide proof of those irregularities at the specified locations to succeed in the petition. Obi, however, failed to provide such specifics.
Additionally, Obi could not substantiate his claims of polling units where elections did not take place or provide particulars of polling units where irregularities were alleged.
This ruling represents a significant setback for Peter Obi and the Labour Party, as their petition against Bola Tinubu has been struck down due to its perceived inadequacies and lack of specificity.
...Details on this developing story will be provided as they emerge
