The Allied People’s Movement (APM), has shut down all attempts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to truncate its petition against them.
Tinubu, through his lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN had sought to use a Supreme Court judgment delivered on May 26, 2023 to terminate the APM’S petition but the request was turned down.
They premised on the ground that the issue raised in the petition of the APM had been resolved by the Supreme Court in the judgment in a suit filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Consequent to the above, Olanipekun prayed the Court to rely on the judgment of the her court to halt hearing into the APM’S petition.
He submitted that the APM’S petition is predicted on internal affairs of the APC and that the Supreme Court’s latest judgment had taken life out of the petition.
The Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani however disagreed with Tinubu and held that the party cannot be shut out in the face of fair hearing.
Justice Tsammani asked Tinubu to keep his objections against hearing of the petition to the final address stage of the Court’s proceedings.
Similar objections raised by APC through its counsel, Charles Edosomwen SAN against the petition on the same ground was turned down by PEPC for the same reason.
Earlier, the APM through its lawyer, Mr Gideon Ijiagbonya had informed the Court of receipt of the Supreme Court judgment being sought to be used to terminate its petition.
The lawyer said that upon perusal of the judgment by the Supreme Court, he and his legal team came to the conclusion that there is life in petition and applied for its hearing.
He however sought for adjournment till June 26 to enable him obtain a vital document from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish his case.
Justice Tsammani in a brief ruling rejected a week long adjournment and fixed Wednesday June 21 for hearing of the petition.
Tinubu had early this month told the Court that the petition instituted against him and his Vice, Kashim Shetima by the APM died at the Supreme Court on May 26, 2023.
The President said that the petition challenging his qualifications for the election on ground of “place holder’ by Kabir Masari was resolved by the Apex Court in a judgment in a suit instituted by PDP on similar ground.
Tinubu through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN disclosed the the PDP’S case marked SC/CV/501/2023 had resolved the grievances brought before the Court by the Allied People’s Movement.
The Supreme Court had in the judgment held that PDP or any other parties, have no right to poke nose into how other parties conducted their primary elections and nominated their candidates.
Olanipekun had argued that the APM’S petition was similar to the PDP’S case taken to Supreme Court and dismissed on the grounds that PDP has no business interfering with internal affairs of other parties.
