All the election related petitions filed by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) against five corespondents; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and Kabiru Masari, has been dismissed by the judge at the ongoing presidential election petition tribunal.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, chairman of the panel, ruled that the case filed by APM against the February 25 election, was incompetent and void of merit. Justice Tsammani further upheld upheld preliminary objections raised by all the Respondents to challenge the competence of the petition.
On the petition APM filed against Shettima, the court judged that it a pre-election matter and the party ought to have filed the suit 14 days after Tinubu was nominated as APC presidential candidate. Therefore, APM lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s nomination. Meanwhile, it is not lawful for the court to interfere in a political party affair.
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The Judge further upheld that invalid nomination or double nomination did not qualify as a ground for disqualification in respect of presidential election as provided in sections 131 and 137 of the Constitution.
More details coming…