Presidential tribunal dismisses Buhari, INEC’s application to strike out PDM’s petition

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has dismissed applications by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking to dismiss the petition by the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) challenging the February 23 presidential election.

Both Buhari and INEC had contended that the petition by PDM and its presidential candidate, Aminchi Habu, did not apply for the issuance of pre-hearing notice within seven days after proof of pleading, which rendered it incompetent and liable to be struck out.

But the five-member panel of justices presided by Justice Mohammed Garba held that the records of the tribunal showed that the PDM’s pre-hearing application was filed on April 30, while the proof of pleadings by the respondents was on April 29.

The judge said the date was in accordance with Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act, and declared Buhari and INEC’s objections as lacking in merit.

“The motion to deem the petition as being abandoned due to the failure of the petitioners to file the application for issuance of pre-hearing notice is, with respect, devoid of merit and is hereby dismissed,” Justice Garba ruled.

PDM and Habu, had through their lawyer, Aliyu Lemu Esq., brought the petition challenging their exclusion from participating in the February 23 presidential election brought under Section 138 of the Electoral Act, which holds that the election be nullified where “a candidate was validly nominated but unlawfully exclude” by INEC.