PEPTJudgement: Tribunal rejects Peter Obi’s claims of election rigging, strikes out testimonies of 10 out of 13 witnesses

In its ruling on Mr. Peter Obi’s petition contesting the proclamation of Bola Tinubu as the victor of the February 25 presidential election, the presidential election petition court on Wednesday wiped out a few paragraphs containing claims of irregularities and corrupt practices.

The affected paragraphs were struck down by the five-member panel because they “failed to meet the requirements of pleadings” and were “vague, imprecise, and nebulous.”

Justice Abba Mohammed, who presided over the hearing on the preliminary objections brought forth by INEC, Tinubu, and the APC, said that “averments” must not be vague or ambiguous, adding that the purpose of pleadings is to inform respondents of the relevant facts so that they can prepare properly.

According to the ruling in a case of alleged malpractice in over 500 polling units, the tribunal submitted that it does not suffice for the petitioners to say some polling units or collation centers without being specific.

“Averments must not be general but specific”, Mohammed held, adding that “petitioners failed to specify polling units where anomalies occurred or where agents complained of alleged malpractice and irregularities.

In addition, the tribunal pointed that amongst the total of over 18,000 polling units where the petitioners alleged that INEC uploaded “blurred results ” unto the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) Portals, not one polling units was cited.

READ ALSO:PEPTJudgement: Tribunal laments failure of Obi, LP to prove election malpractice allegations

“They did not specify polling units where election results were not uploaded” or where scores attributed to them was reduced or added to Tinubu”.

“They did not show the majority of votes they claimed they had scored “, the tribunal held, adding that “petitioners only make generic allegations of irregularities and malpractice.”

Mohammed further faulted the petitioners for relying on a spreadsheet analysis, inspection results and experts reports.

According to Mohammed, such documents ought to be served on the respondents to enable them do their own analysis and respond accordingly.

“The spreadsheet report, inspection results and experts reports were not served but only listed as documents to be relied on in adjudicating the petition”, the court held.

It subsequently went ahead to strike out the affected paragraphs as requested by the petitioners.
The tribunal also stroke out testimonies of 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by Obi during trial.

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