Presidential Tribunal: Military, Police Warn Protesters Ahead Of Judgement

The military and the police in Nigeria have warned protesters against any unlawful action ahead of the delivery of the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

A verdict would be passed in Abuja on Wednesday, September 6, on the petitions challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February presidential elections. Business Day confirmed that the tribunal justices who will deliver the verdict on Wednesday are the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani; Justice Stephen Adah of the Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf , Court of Appeal (Asaba Division), Justices Moses Ugo  (Court of Appeal, Kano) and Abba Mohammed of the Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal. At the end of the presidential poll in February, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress polled 8.8 million to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, who scored 6.9 million, Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, who polled 6.1 million votes, and 15 other candidates. Five of the 18 political parties have turned to court to contest the declaration by the electoral body. Atiku and Obi have asked the tribunal to nullify the ex-Lagos governor’s victory in the February 25 presidential election. Other parties that have filed a suit against Tinubu’s declaration include the Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement. Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has warned that protests in a human right and the DSS should not trample on them. PRO of the union, Giwa Temitope, has reacted to the statement by the DSS that some persons are mobilising youths for violent protests. Giwa said: “It is quite embarrassing that the DSS has derailed to become the propaganda arm of the Federal Government, thereby raising false alarms and even interfering in affairs that do not in any way relate to their line of profession. “As an association, we maintain that we are not satisfied with how the Nigerian society is being run, most especially as regards arbitrary fee increment across our tertiary institutions, with the University of Lagos being a model.” However, the Presidency said the judiciary is in the best position to make independent decisions based on the merits of the case before it. The statement says Tinubu sees no need to threaten judicial officers, saying that the judiciary is in the best position to make independent decisions based on the merits of the case before it, Punch reports.