PEPT Update! Obi Failed to Prove Alleged Widespread Voting Irregularities, Tribunal Rules

The Presidential Election Petitions Court has described Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s claim of widespread irregularities during the February 25, 2023 presidential election as generic.

A member of the five-member panel, Justice Abba Mohammed, held that Obi’s petition only alleged that there were widespread irregularities without giving the particulars and the polling units.

Justice Mohammed held that in a presidential election held in 176,866 polling units in 774 local government areas, it would be improper not to specify where there were irregularities.

According to him, the petitioners only made generic allegations.

“Pleading must set out material facts and particulars. In the instant petition, there was no effort to prove specific allegations, particulars of complaints,” said the Tribunal.

“The law is clear that where someone alleges irregularities in a particular polling unit, such person must prove the particular irregularities in that polling unit before that petition can succeed,” the Tribunal added.

The court said the petitioners did not prove the particular polling unit where the election did not take place nor did they specify particulars of polling units where there are alleged complainants of irregularities.

“It was only in one instance that figures were given of alleged suppressed votes and we all know that elections are about figures,” it said.

“LP alleged that INEC reduced their scores and added it to APC votes but failed to supply particulars of what they actually scored before the said reductions, neither did they supply the polling units where it happened….”

After Obi’s petition, the tribunal is expected to also rule on the petition by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

INEC had declared Tinubu winner of the election with 8.8 million votes. Atiku polled a total of 6,984,520 votes in the election to come second, while Obi came behind Atiku with a total of 6,101,533 votes, according to INEC.