PDM’s application to withdraw petition forces tribunal to extend pre hearing session, says Justice Garba

Andrew Orolua, Abuja

The presiding Justice of Presidential Election Petition Tribunal , Justice Mohammed Garba said on Wednesday that the tribunal has been forced to extend the pre hearing session on the petition filed by Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) against President Muhammadu Buhari election to July 18.

He said that the tribunal had on June 27, adjourned the petition till today ( Wednesday July 10) in order to present its pre hearing session report but it now extending the pre hearing session due to a fresh application brought by PDM seeking to withdraw its petition.

When the petition was called on Wednesday, a counsel Morrison Ononu announced appearance for the 2nd petitioner the political party lead by its National Chairman, Chief Frank Igwebuike.

He told the tribunal that PDM has an application to withdraw the petition but he was served a counter affidavit by the first petitioner and there need to respond to it before he move the application.

Aliyu Lemu the counsel for the petitioner who filed the petition confirmed that he received a strange application on Tuesday and have responded to it.

Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) counsel for INEC , Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) counsel for Bihari and Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) counsel for All Progressives Congress (APC), acknowledged they received the application but want it to be heard immediately.

Ononu said the first petitioner responded to our application and “filed a counter affidavit which he served on us yesterday. .We need time to respond to it”.

Consequently, the tribunal adjourned the application to July 18.

Lemu told journalists outside the Court room that the application to withdraw PDM was a plot to frustrate the petition which INEC , Buhari and APC have no reasonable reply to it because the petitioner that is the party and its candidate were excluded from the February 23, 2019 presidential election.