Election Tribunal: Atiku, Obi Gets Three Weeks to Prove Cases

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku; and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, have been given three weeks to prove their cases regarding the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

  The Presidential Election Petition Court gave the order during Tuesday’s proceeding at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. 

The court ruled that there would be no oral cross-examination of witnesses and that the adoption of witness statements would be necessary in order to ensure a swift hearing of the case.

The court added that for star (or expert) witnesses, the time allotted for the evidence in chief portion of the trial will be 30 minutes, followed by 20 minutes for cross-examination, and five minutes for re-examination.

Peter Obi’s hearing is to commence on May 30 and end on June 23.

Meanwhile, Atiku was also given three weeks to present his case; the hearing started on May 30 and ended on June 20.

The Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) was given one day to prove its case as it had only one witness to call. The hearing will begin on May 30 to end on July 3 and is expected to close its evidence on June 6. 

The court further stated that there would be no oral cross-examination of witnesses because they would only be permitted to adopt their written statements, in accordance with Section 41(3) of the 1st Schedule of the Electoral Act.

INEC, the first respondent, was allowed two days, while Tinubu and the APC, the second and third respondents, were given five days.

The hearing for the combined lawsuit is scheduled to begin on May 30; the Labour Party and the PDP’s case is scheduled to be closed on June 23.

The Tribunal is anticipated to meet every day of the week, including Saturdays.