Breaking: Tribunal Dismisses APM’s Petition against Tinubu

The presidential election petition tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) against the election of President Bola Tinubu. The court dismissed the petition in a ruling in a preliminary objection filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu, Shettima and Kabiru Masari, who were 1st to 5th respondents respectively.

The five member panel agreed with the respondents that the petition was incompetent, lacking in merit, and an abuse of court processes on the grounds that the case was a pre-election matter. The tribunal stated that the case of the petitioner having been a pre-election matter ought to be filed at the Federal High Court, not before the tribunal.

It added that even if the tribunal had powers to hear the case, it has already become statute barred, having not been filed within 14 days as prescribed by law. According to the tribunal, its findings showed that the case of the APM was premised on the alleged unlawful nomination and sponsorship of the vice president, Kashim Shettima, which ought to be a pre-election matter.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the ruling observed that the issue of qualification and disqualification of a candidate is a constitutional matter, adding that the issue of nomination does not flow from the grounds of disqualification as provided in the Constitution.