The Court of Appeal in Abuja has granted permission to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to serve their election petition, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23, 2019 poll, through substituted means.
A three-man panel of the court gave the greenlight on Wednesday in a pre-hearing session of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The petitioners’ lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), had earlier moved the application for substituted service.
The justices granted the request contained in the petitioners’ ex parte application that Buhari, who is the second respondent to the petition, be served through any senior official or an officer of the APC at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.
Justice Abdu Aboki, who led the panel and delivered the lead ruling, said “it is in the interest of justice” to grant the prayers in the petitioners’ application.
The PDP and Atiku had on March 18, 2019 challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission’s declaration of Buhari as the winner of the election.
The INEC, Buhari and the APC are the first to the third respondents in that order.
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