After the recent verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which dismissed the petition of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, the party has announced its intention to take the matter to the Supreme Court.
The PEPT ruling, which took place on Wednesday, concluded that the petition submitted by Obi and Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with their respective parties, had no merit. The election of President Bola Tinubu was upheld by the tribunal in a unanimous decision.
The judgement was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, and the panel members, Justices Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Stephen Adah, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.
Following the verdict, Kehinde Edun, the Legal Adviser to the Labour Party, spoke to reporters and stated that the party would address the judgement in the highest court of law, the Supreme Court.
Edun highlighted how the tribunal discarded the testimonies of 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by the Labour Party, describing the judgement as unusual.
“There are certain aspects of this ruling that we find unacceptable. Therefore, we intend to hear what the highest court in the land has to say about it. It is crucial for us to address this issue not only for the present but also for the development of our legal system”, he added.
Similarly, Diran Onifade, the Head of Media and Communications of the former Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, confirmed that the party intends to appeal the PEPT’s judgement when asked about their next move.
When questioned about their next line of action, Diran simply responded, “We will appeal the judgement”.