The All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu are set to begin their defense next week in response to a petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election. In the election, Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who garnered 6,101,533 votes.
Following the election, petitions were lodged by Obi, Atiku, and their respective parties before the tribunal. Additionally, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has filed a petition and has already completed presenting their case after calling one witness. Atiku and the PDP concluded their case after calling 27 witnesses, while Obi and the LP rested their case after presenting 13 witnesses.
During the most recent tribunal session, the lawyers involved agreed to postpone the defense until after the Muslim holiday, deviating from the original schedule that set June 31 as the date. Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Tinubu, explained that this decision was made considering the desire of many lawyers to travel and celebrate with their families and loved ones.
In response to the request, the five-member panel of justices, led by Harunna Tsammani, granted the adjournment and rescheduled the case to continue on July 3. It is expected that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will present its defense first.
