Presidential Tribunal dismisses petition challenging Buhari’s victory

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition of the Coalition for Change (C4C) challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the February 23 presidential election.

This is as a result of an application for withdrawal of the petition filed on Monday by the petitioners on June 10.

C4C and its presidential candidate, Geff Chizee Ojinika, had filed the petition marked: CA/PEPTL/003/2019, in which they complained of unlawful exclusion or misrepresentation and sought the cancellation of the election and the conduct of a fresh presidential election.

READ ALSO: Buhari secured Second Term with electoral violence- Human Rights Watch

Also, they complained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) printed CC and against its actual acronym of C4C, a development, they claimed worked to their disadvantage.

During the court session on Monday, the counsels representing President Buhari and the All Progressive Congress (APC), Wole Olanipekun and Lateef Fagbemi, informed the court that their clients was yet to be served with a copy of the petition.

Olanipekun said at the last adjourned date, the panel had granted an application for substituted service but that up till Monday morning, the petitioners were yet to serve the processes on the first respondent.

Responding, the counsel representing C4C, Obed Agwu, informed the tribunal that an application for the withdrawal of their petition against the election of Mr Buhari was filed on Monday in court but was yet to be served on the respondents.

Following the non-objection of the application by other parties involved in the matter, the five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba accordingly granted the application and dismissed the suit.

The petition by the C4C is one of the four cases brought against the victory of President Buhari and that of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the presidential poll.

Others are those filed by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and Ambrose Owuru, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate (marked: CA/PEPC/001/2019); the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar (CA/PEPC/001/2019); and the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and Pastor Aminchi Habu, listed as the party’s presidential candidate (CA/PEPC/004/2019).

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