The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has delivered a verdict dismissing the petitions filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against President Bola Tinubu and his Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
The PEPC described the APM’s case, which aimed to nullify Tinubu’s election, as “incompetent.”
The court’s ruling emphasized that the issues raised by the APM in its petition primarily constituted pre-election matters. As such, these matters could only be adjudicated upon by the Federal High Court, rather than the Presidential Election Petition Court.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, the Chairman of the panel, announced the decision during the court proceedings.
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In addition to the petition against President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, the tribunal also dismissed the APM’s petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and four other respondents.
The respondents included INEC, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, and Kabiru Masari.
The tribunal meticulously examined each of the arguments presented by the APM. Ultimately, Justice Tsammani ruled that the petitioners had failed to substantiate their arguments, and the petition lacked merit.
The judge also upheld the preliminary objections raised by all the respondents, challenging the competence of the APM’s petition.
Justice Tsammani underscored that since the crux of the petition revolved around the qualification or eligibility of Bola Tinubu to contest the presidential election, the APM should have pursued legal action within 14 days after Tinubu’s nomination by the APC.
The judge further clarified that because the cause of action pertained to a pre-election matter, the APM lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to challenge Tinubu’s nomination
