The Court of Appeal yesterday granted permission to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labor Party (LP) candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi, to inspect documents used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the February 25 presidential election.
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The consent was a sequel to two ex-parte applications filed by Abubakar and Obi, who came second and third in the presidential election won by Senator Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abubakar and Obi have alleged non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act in addition to violence and fraud, which they claim undermined the conduct and outcome of the election.
He had in a separate media briefing last Thursday in Abuja vowed to take the complaint to court.
The election referee, Tinubu and the APC were said to be respondents in the matter.
Atiku’s lawyer, Adedamola Faloku, while opposing the motion, prayed the court to allow the ex-parte application filed under section 146 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, Paragraph 47 (1, 2 & 3) of the First Schedule. The Electoral Act 2022 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court as referred to by Section 6 (6) A & B of the 1999 Constitution.
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The application, which is based on six grounds, seeks seven reliefs. The schedule of documents for the respondent’s interrogation (INEC) is also in the application supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit.
Counsel for the applicant adopted all the averments contained in the affidavit and urged the court to grant the application.
In another application, Obi’s lawyer, Mr. Alex Ejeseme (SAN), also prayed the appeal court to grant the relief he sought in the ex-parte motion in the interest of justice.
He stated that the motion was brought under Section 86 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, Section 146 of the Electoral Act 2022 and paragraph 47 (1 and 54) of the first Schedule of the Electoral Act. 2022 under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court.
Ejeseme also told the Court that he had removed the 15-paragraph affidavit and relied on all the averments therein to ask the court to grant the application.
After listening to the request, the presiding judge, Judge Joseph Ikyegh, then accepted the request of the two applicants.
The chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has declared Tinubu the winner of the election, saying that he secured the majority of votes cast and also met the legal benchmark of 25 per cent in two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
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