The Presidential Election Petitions Court sitting in Abuja on Monday told the legal team of President Bola Tinubu and All Progressives Congress, APC, that it cannot stop the court from hearing the petition filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against the nomination of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
THE WHISTLER reports that the APM’s petition has been adjourned about three times from June 2 over parties’ inability to access certified true copies of a Supreme Court judgement that touched on Tinubu’s nomination of Shettima.
The court was notified about the apex court judgement by the APC legal team represented by Niyi Akintola, SAN.
But APM’s counsel, Yakubu Maikaswa, had last week insisted on hearing his case on the merit over failure to access the apex court judgement.
The matter was then adjourned to Monday (today) for hearing.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, APM through another lawyer, G.A. Idiagoya, told the five-man panel of the court that the petitioner has accessed the Supreme Court judgement but believes it did not touch the grounds of their case.
“We are of the opinion that we can still proceed with our petition,” he said.
The lawyer, however, asked for further adjournment because “certain documents we intend to tender are not in the file that was submitted to us by the previous counsel.”
Idiagoya sought for another date to open and close his case, explaining that the documents he needs to prove his case is with the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“We have just one witness,” he said.
Counsel for the APC, Charles Uwesoye, SAN, rose up and tried to comment on the said Supreme Court judgement but Justice Haruna Tsammani stopped him from talking about it but to only object to the petitioner’s call for adjournment.
“I live that to your lordships,” Uwesoye replied.
Tinubu’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN urged the PEPC to note that as a senior lawyer it was his duty to explain to them that the Supreme Court (in the case between PDP and INEC, Tinubu) came to the conclusion that “no court has jurisdiction…”
Before Olanipekun could end his statement, Justice Haruna Tsammani interjected, saying “You can’t shut them (APM) out” from going ahead with their petition.
Olanipekun then agreed to an adjournment for Tuesday but the panel adjourned to Wednesday for hearing.
Recall that the Supreme Court had in a recent verdict berated the People’s Democratic Party for trying to mislead the public and the court by alleging that Shettima was the APC Senatorial District candidate for Borno South when he accepted to be Tinubu’s running mate prior to the February 25 Presidential election.