TINUBU: Obi, Atiku To Serve Petitions By Substituted Means Due To Tight Security Around President-Elect

The Presidential Election Petition Court on Friday granted motion expartes filed by the candidates of the Labour party, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, aimed at serving their petitions and other accompanying processes on the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.

In his motion, Obi’s lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu SAN told the panel that the bailiff of the court has made “unsuccessful attempts” to serve his petition challenging the 2023 presidential election personally on Tinubu and Shettima.

He argued that since Tinubu was announced as winner of the 2023 poll on March 1, he had relocated from his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos “to the Defence Guest House Maitama, Abuja from where he will function until he is sworn -in as president on May 29.”

He said service has become difficult because the security details attached to Tinubu and Shettima have “substantially changed”, resulting in “heavy restriction of access” to them.

He added that “increased security presence” around Tinubu makes it difficult to serve his petitions on him personally.

Atiku also filed similar motion.

They all prayed the court to grant them leave to serve their petitions by substituted means, either at the office of the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress or any of the staff working there.

The court granted their prayers.