The Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, who claims that the February 25 presidential election was manipulated in favor of President Bola Tinubu, wrapped up his legal case on Friday.
Obi, who placed third in the race, concluded his case after presenting numerous documents and bringing forward 13 witnesses at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja.
He presented the court with evidence from polling units across the nation’s 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The documents included voting results and records of Permanent Voter Cards collected before the 2023 general elections.
Four videos were also submitted, including one of a press conference where Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), promised real-time election results via the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
Additional documents included a record of the number of registered voters in each state.
Despite objections from the Respondents regarding the documents’ admissibility, the Labour Party ended its case after the 13th witness testified, though initially, they planned to bring forward a total of 50 witnesses.
Tanko Yunusa, the 12th witness and Chief Spokesman of the Labour Party Presidential Election Council, reported voting in Abuja and observing the vote counting at his polling unit.
Yunusa described his dissatisfaction with the election results and how he believes unlawful votes were credited to President Tinubu by INEC.
However, he was unable to provide an exact figure for the alleged unlawfully allocated votes, instead referring to the figures presented by an expert witness.
Following Yunusa’s testimony, the 13th and final witness, Peter Emmanuel Yari, a Presiding Officer in Kaduna State during the presidential election, testified about difficulties with voter accreditation and uploading of results using BVAS machines.
After the Petitioners closed their case, the court case was postponed until July 3 when INEC will begin its defense.
The Labour Party is seeking to nullify the election results, arguing that President Tinubu was not the valid winner.
They also question Tinubu’s eligibility due to allegations of previous indictments and his running mate’s nomination for another position.
The Petitioners also challenge the election’s validity due to alleged corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
They demand either a declaration of Obi as the election’s winner, or an order for a fresh election excluding Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC.