The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has delivered a number of judgement so far in petitions filed against the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
It was reported that five political parties including the PDP, LP, Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the Action Alliance (AA) had lodged separate petitions before the tribunal seeking to annul Tinubu’s victory.
Justice Haruna Tsammani is the lead judge of the five-man panel presiding over the judgement.
Others include Justice Stephen Adah – Court of Appeal (Asaba division); Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf – Court of Appeal (Asaba Division); Justice Moses Ugo – Kano division and Justice Abba Mohammed – Ibadan Court of Appeal.
These five jurists will continue to deliberate and possibly vote to take a final decision, in case there are disagreements on issues thrown up at ongoing trial.
Here are the key issues which have been determined so far;
1. The allegation of double nomination by APM against Vice-President Kashim Shettima holds no water.
2. LP’s Peter Obi could not prove that his votes were suppressed and that he scored the majority of lawful votes cast.
3. Out of the 13 witnesses called by Obi/LP, 10 were not accepted by the court.
4. The tribunal said President Bola Tinubu was not convicted because civil forfeiture is not a criminal matter.
5. The tribunal said INEC is at liberty to define the mode of results transmission it intends to use.
6. The tribunal said there is no specific provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022.
7. Obi/LP failed to prove INEC deliberately refused to upload results.
8. Obi/LP failed to prove how they were affected by the failure of INEC to electronically transmit results.