Tinubu Files Suit to Stop LP, PDP from Halting Collation of Presidential Election Results 

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano 

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday, instituted a legal action to restrain the Labour Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), from stopping the collation and announcement of the results of the February 25 presidential election.

According to court documents, the case, filed on Tuesday before the Federal High Court in Kano and marked FHC/KN/CS/43/2023, the Action Alliance and the Independent National Electoral Commission were joined as defendants and the Vice Presidential of the party,  Kashim Shettima was mentioned among the plaintiff.

The plaintiffs in the originating summons asked for a declaration that INEC chairman “is duty bound to continue to receive Election Results from the State Collation Officers of the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory for the purpose of collating the result of the Presidential Election from the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT as collated and announced by the States Collation Officers in their respective States and the FCT for the purpose of declaring the winner of the Presidential Election as well accordingly make a return of the candidate so declared in fulfillment of the provisions of section 134 (1) &(2) of the 1999 Constitution.”

The plaintiffs in a motion on notice filed alongside the originating summons, asked the court to make the order restraining the defendants from stopping the collation and announcement of the results because “damages will not adequately compensate for the injury that may be occasioned on the Plaintiffs if the Defendants stops the collation of the result.”

The suit was supported by an affidavit deposed to by Abdullahi Abbas, the APC Chairman in Kano.

The counsel for the plaintiffs, Sunusi Musa (SAN) moved the ex-parte motion attached to the summons, the judge, Justice A. M. Liman held that “the Chief Judge of the Court has directed that no Ex Parte Application may be issued by any Judge” and therefore ordered an accelerated hearing of the Motion on March, 3 by 12:00 noon via zoom, and ordered that the defendants must be served with the process by publication in 3 National Dailies 48 hours before hearing of the application.