The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) on Wednesday closed case in its petition challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, after calling one witness.
Bola Tinubu, the then presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and his vice, Kashim Shettima, won the February 25 election.
The party, in their petition marked CA/PEPC/04/2023, seeks the nullification of President Bola Tinubu’s election on the grounds of the double nomination of Shettima.
At the resumption of proceedings at the Presidential Elections Petitions Court, sitting in Abuja, Gideon Idiagbonya, counsel to APM called its sole witness, Aisha Abubakar, who gave evidence in support of its petition.
The witness, who identified herself as the assistant welfare officer of the APM, tendered the five witness statements on oath she deposed to at the registry of the court. The witness also tendered her membership card as evidence in the matter.
Other documents tendered by the petitioner and admitted as exhibits by the court include the declaration of results sheet Form EC8E, a notice of withdrawal of Kabiru Masari as the vice presidential candidate of APC, Shettima’s notice of withdrawal as Borno Central Senatorial candidate of APC (Form EC11C), letter of voluntary withdrawal written to APC by Shettima as the senatorial candidate of APC for Borno Central Senatorial District, and affidavit in support of personal particulars for nominations of Shettima as the vice presidential candidate of APC (Form EC9).
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Others are an affidavit of personal particulars for the nomination of Kabiru Masari as the vice presidential candidate of APC (Form EC9), an affidavit in support of personal particulars for nomination of Lawal Kaka Shehu as Borno Central Senatorial candidate of APC.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also produced two documents in response to a subpoena from the petitioners. They are certified true copies of an online temporary acknowledgement of Kashim Shettima’s profile of Thursday, July 14, 2022, and an online temporary acknowledgement of Lawal Kaka Shehu’s profile of Friday, July 15, 2022. These documents were tendered and admitted as exhibits by the court.
At the end of the cross-examination of the witness by all respondents in the petition, counsel to the petitioner announced the closure of the case.
Lateef Fagbemi, counsel to the APC, tendered the Supreme Court judgement which dismissed the suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the February 25 presidential election on the grounds of the double nomination of his running mate, for lacking in merit.
Counsel to APM raised objections to the admissibility of the said judgement, but the court admitted it as evidence.
The court gave the petitioner ten days to file and serve its final written address, and the respondents were given seven days to file and serve their final written addresses in the petition.
The court then fixed July 14, 2023, for the adoption of final written addresses by the parties in the petition.
