The Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, were reprimanded by the Presidential Election Petition Court for their unpreparedness in the case filed against President Bola Tinubu’s election victory.
During the session on Thursday, a senior lawyer on the petitioners’ side, Emeka Okpoko, attempted to submit electoral documents as evidence, but they were not appropriately filed and scheduled according to court protocols.
The court temporarily adjourned the session, instructing the petitioners’ team to properly re-file the documents. Yet, upon resuming, their preparations still seemed insufficient.
Presiding Justice Haruna Tsammani, leading the five-member panel, advised the petitioners to request an adjournment to better organize their documents.
He remarked, “What we have done today is a waste of time. I think you underrated the kind of job you have to do.”
However, Awa Kalu, another senior lawyer on the petitioners’ team, declined the court’s suggestion.
“I took an adjournment yesterday and I would not like to do that today,” Kalu stated.
Eventually, the issues were sorted out and the petitioners submitted electoral documents from six states.
In the filed petition, both the petitioners and the respondents are set to call upon 83 witnesses in total.
The court has set a timeline from May 30 to August 5 for the different stages of the case, including presenting evidence and adopting final addresses.
As of now, the petitioners have called only one witness.
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