…By Dorcas Funmi for TDPel Media.
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has once again postponed the hearing for the petition filed by Peter Gregory Obi and the Labour Party (LP) against the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This marks the third time the hearing has been postponed, this time due to issues with the schedule of documents that were meant to support allegations of malpractices during the February 25 presidential election.
Discrepancies in Documents:
During the resumed proceedings on Thursday, the court discovered that the submitted documents did not comply with their earlier order.
Specifically, discrepancies were found in the documents related to the 23 local government areas of Benue, casting doubt on their accuracy and reliability.
Unsuccessful Attempts to Correct Errors:
Efforts were made to rectify these discrepancies and reschedule the documents, but they proved to be insurmountable.
In a last-ditch effort, Chief Emeka Okpoko (SAN), the counsel for Obi and the Labour Party, attempted to introduce additional documents that were not originally filed for the hearing.
However, this move was rejected on the grounds of illegality.
Postponement and Document Resubmission:
Consequently, the hearing was postponed, and the court ordered Obi and the Labour Party’s legal team to re-submit the document schedule in accordance with the requirements outlined in the pre-hearing report.
This delay adds to the series of setbacks that have hindered Obi’s petition from progressing.
Presence in Court and Judicial Proceedings:
During the hearing, Peter Obi, along with the Vice Presidential candidate Datti Baba Ahmed, were present in court, while their lawyers were urgently refiling the necessary documents at the court registry.
Meanwhile, the five Justices, led by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, retired to their chambers, awaiting the reorganization of the legal team.