Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, have been given three weeks by the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to prove their cases over the outcome of the 2023 presidential election. The court is located in Abuja.
This information was presented on Tuesday at a proceeding taking place at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The court decided that there would be no oral examination of witnesses and that the adoption of witness statements would be necessary in order to ensure that the hearing on the petition would take place as quickly as possible.
When it comes to star (or expert) witnesses, the judge will provide 30 minutes for the prosecution’s testimony in chief, 20 minutes for the defense’s cross-examination, and 5 minutes for the prosecution’s re-examination.
The hearing for Peter Obi is scheduled to start on May 30 and go through June 23.
Atiku, who was representing the PDP, was allowed the same amount of time to present his evidence, with the hearing beginning on May 30 and continuing until June 20.
Due to the fact that the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) only had one witness to call, they were only given one day to present their evidence.
In accordance with subsection (3) of section 41 of the first schedule of the Electoral Act, the court ruled that there would be no oral examination of witnesses and that instead, witnesses will only be permitted to adopt their written statements. The court’s decision is effective immediately.
The hearing for APM will start on May 30 and continue through July 3, and it is anticipated that the evidence will be finished on June 6.
The First Respondent, INEC, has two days to answer, while the Second Respondent, Tinubu, and the Third Respondent, the APC, both have five days.
The hearings for the unified lawsuit are scheduled to begin across the board on May 30, while the Labour Party and the PDP are scheduled to wrap up their portions on June 23.
Additionally, it is anticipated that the Tribunal will meet every day of the week, including Saturdays.