By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja.
The Presidential Election Petition Court on Tuesday in Abuja reserved judgment in the petition of the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abubakar Atiku, seeking nullification of declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Chairman of the court, Justice Simon Tsammani while reserving judgment said that the date of its delivery would be communicated to parties in the dispute.
The major petitioner, Atiku had while adopting his final address asked the PEPC to do substantial justice to his petition and not technical judgment that may pervert the course of Justice.
He insisted that Tinubu be disqualified on the strength of the American Court judgment where he was made to forfeit $460,000 on narcotics drug and money laundering related offences.
Atiku’s final address was adopted by his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN.
However, counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Lateef Fagbemi SAN urged the Court to discountenance the arguments on the ground that the purported forfeiture had taken place more than 30 years ago.
In his own, President Tinubu represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN canvassed that the petition be dismissed because the grievances of Atiku and PDP were targeted at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and not Tinubu.
Olanipekun said that by not directing his grievances against Tinubu, the PDP presidential candidate and his party are deemed to have abandoned the petition against the declaration of Tinubu as President.
On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC represented by Abubakar Balarabe Mahmood SAN, asked the court to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petitioners did not prove the allegations of malpractices and forgery contained in the petition as required by law.
