Atiku files petition challenging Buhari’s victory

Emmanuel AmudaMarch 5, 2019

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The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate in the February 23 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, filed an application seeking an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to allow it to inspect materials used for the conduct of the poll, Newsflash247 reports.

The petitioners, through their lawyers, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), filed the ex parte application before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal located on the premises of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

They are through their application seeking the tribunal’s order seeking the court’s order granting them permission to inspect the Voters Registers, the Smart Card Reader Machines, ballot papers and other documents used for the conduct of the poll.

Inspection of election materials usually precedes the filing of an election petition.

The motion ex-parte motion was supported with a 12 paragraphed affidavit that was deposed to by one Col. Austin Akobundu, rtd, the director of Contact and Mobilization of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council.

Meantime, no date has yet been fixed for hearing of the motion which has INEC, President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, as 1st to 3rd Respondents.

Atiku who came second behind President Buhari of the APC, had earlier vowed to challenge the outcome of the presidential election in court, alleging that it was fraught with manifest irregularities.

He maintained that results collated by agents at various polling units across the federation, was at variance with what was eventually declared by INEC, in favour of President Buhari.