EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Court of Appeal in Abuja has granted President-elect Bola Tinubu access to inspect the electoral materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the recently concluded presidential election.
This comes after Tinubu’s lawyer, Akintola Makinde, had requested to inspect, scan and make photocopies of some of the materials. Makinde had argued that the materials were necessary for Tinubu to prepare his defence against petitions that may seek to nullify his election.
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Tinubu had filed two ex-parte applications on March 6, citing the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as respondents in the first application, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, were cited as respondents in the second application, alongside INEC. Both Obi and Abubakar had claimed victory in the presidential election.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, the court said it was satisfied that Tinubu and his party were entitled to have access to the materials in INEC’s possession to enable them to inspect, scan and make photocopies of them.
The court held that Tinubu’s request had merit and that he should be given access to the materials to defend his election victory.
Tinubu, who contested the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had won the election with a wide margin, defeating his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. The court’s decision is expected to aid Tinubu’s defence against any petitions seeking to nullify his victory in the presidential election.
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