Nigeria’s ‘president-elect’, Bola Tinubu and his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, have objected to an attempt by their opposition to merge all three petitions filed against their victory in the 2023 presidential election.
The objection was made by Tinubu's legal team, led by Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, who claimed that combining all of the petitions would jeopardise his ability to adequately defend all of the points brought by the petitioners, PM News reports.
In March, the Peoples Democratic Party's Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party's Peter Obi, and the Allied Peoples Democratic (APM) submitted petitions to challenge the election results.
The petitions, which contained mostly similar concerns, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of significant irregularities throughout the presidential election's conduct.
The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC in Abuja, in order to facilitate the court proceedings, had disclosed its move to harmonise all the petitions.
The court's five-member panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, stated that it was authorised by Paragraph 50 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act to merge all petitions and decide them all together.
As a result, it granted the counsel for all petitioners the permission to consult with their clients and brief the court on their resolution.
At the resumption of hearings on Monday, Tinubu's lawyer contended that the part of the Electoral Act alluded to by the court was not absolute, citing some differences in the petitions as a barrier to the strict application of the law.
He added that it would not be fair to merge the petitions because the petitioners are seeking different reliefs from the court.
The lawyers said, “My lords, the issue of justice should be a restraint on the power of this court to exercise its discretion in granting the order for consolidation.
“My lords, when the exercise of power is subject to the limitation of some conditions, then it cannot be said that the exercise is mandatory.
“There are issues raised in one petition that are not there in others. The issues vary. The same goes for evidential issues that are based on pleadings that have been exchanged by parties in this case.
“We want to make it clear at this stage that it will be absolutely difficult for us to consent to consolidation of the petitions.
“I most humbly urge your lordships not to grant the consolidation.”
Earlier, Mr. Charles Edosomwam, SAN, counsel for the APC, also contended that consolidating the cases would be detrimental to justice.
He said, “The justice factor is a major issue for consideration before your lordships can arrive at a just conclusion of these matters.
“The grounds are different and the wide range of issues raised by parties are also different.”
According to him, “major issues before this court would be lost like a pin in a haystack”.
“Moreover, it will be pragmatically impossible for the respondent to effectively defend the case.
“It is our position that the issue of justice cannot be sacrificed at the altar of convenience,” the APC’s counsel added.