NEWS
Tribunal Dismisses Atiku’s Petitions Against Tinubu
Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the People Democratic Party in the February elections, submitted petitions on Wednesday, but the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on Wednesday struck out several paragraphs of those petitions in order to invalidate Tinubu’s victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Additionally, the tribunal rejected and discounted exhibits submitted by Abubakar, including witness statements, in order to substantiate his claims of electoral irregularities.
Delivering judgment in some objections argued by Tinubu’s lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, Justice Moses Ugoh, held that several parts of Atiku’s petition could neither stand nor survive, hence, is incompetent.
In a similar judgement meted to presentations by Labour Party’s Peter Obi, the Court held that Abubakar failed to provide several facts fundamentally required to support his petition.
Inter alia, the court said the PDP candidate failed to name the places where ballot boxes were snatched, the ways and manners the BVAS machines were manipulated, and specific polling units where the alleged malpractices happened.
Abubakar, who claimed to have polled the majority of lawful votes was said to have failed to state, in strong terms, the total lawful votes he claimed to have scored.
The Tribunal held that although the former Vice President alleged that Tinubu did not score the majority of lawful votes, he failed to reveal the perceived lawful votes in his petition to the Tribunal.
Correspondingly, the Tribunal said Abubakar made grievous allegations against Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Chairman of Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi, Friday Adejoh, but neglected to join them as respondents in the petition.
Justice Ugoh held that failure to join the governor, who was accused of electoral fraud obstructed the petition because the governor was denied the opportunity to defend himself as required by law.
Therefore, the Tribunal dismissed the allegations of over-voting nationwide by the petitioner saying such pleadings run foul of the law because he failed to mention the specific locations where the alleged over-voting took place.
Abubakar’s petition was also faulted for introducing several facts and allegations in unlawful ways that caught the respondents unaware, adding that the tactic employed was unfair and made him clever by half.
Amongst the new facts he was said to have wrongfully introduced were the allegations of certificate forgery, criminal conviction, and dual citizenship of Guinea, made against Tinubu outside the mode of filing a petition.
Justice Stephen Adah, who read another ruling on objections against the petition, expunged several documents tendered by Atiku on the ground that the exhibits were made during the pendency of the petition.
Additionally, the tribunal removed from the tribunal record a number of important witnesses for Abubakar because they had been called in ways that were illegal. It was decided that many paragraphs should be deleted since they lacked validity due to the improper structuring of the petition by the presidential candidate from Adamawa.
In a shocking incident on Sunday morning, unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers invaded the home of Alhaji Auwal, a prominent businessman, in Garo Town, Kabo Local Government Area of Kano State.
The gunmen, estimated to be around 10 in number, forced their way into the residence, breaking down a door to gain entry.
An anonymous source revealed that the attackers were heavily armed, with three carrying firearms and the rest wielding other weapons.
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They quickly gathered the entire family in one room, instilling fear and panic in the household.
According to the source, Alhaji Auwal pleaded with the assailants to spare his family and agreed to meet their demands.
The kidnappers, who were determined to extort money, received ₦8 million from the family.
Despite this payment, the gunmen took the businessman’s eldest daughter, Zainab, a secondary school graduate, before fleeing the scene.
The whereabouts of Zainab remain unknown, and as of now, the kidnappers have not contacted the family.
This abduction comes just 48 hours after the tragic kidnapping and subsequent murder of former Gombe State Permanent Secretary, Atiku Mu’azu, who was killed by gunmen after a ₦10 million ransom was paid.
The two incidents have left the residents of Kano in shock and fear, prompting calls for increased security measures in the area.
Attempts to reach the spokesperson for the Kano Police Command, SP Abdullahi Haruna, for comment were unsuccessful as his phone remained unreachable.
Authorities have yet to make any official statements regarding the investigation.
In a bold move, Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared on Sunday that he would not allow US deportation flights carrying Colombian migrants to access his country’s airspace.
The left-wing leader took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his strong stance, stating, “The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants.”
Petro made it clear that such flights would only be accepted once Washington established a protocol to ensure the “dignified treatment” of deported migrants.
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The president later confirmed in a separate post that he had already turned back US military planes that were en route with Colombian migrants on board, although he did not provide further specifics on the matter.
While AFP sought confirmation from US authorities regarding the blockade of deportation flights, no immediate response was forthcoming.
Petro’s statements come just a day after Brazil’s government voiced similar outrage over the treatment of deported Brazilians.
Brazil condemned the US administration under President Donald Trump, citing instances where Brazilian migrants were deported while handcuffed on flights, describing it as a “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.
In his remarks, Petro emphasized that he would be open to allowing civilian US flights to transport deported migrants as long as they were not subjected to treatment “like criminals,” signaling a broader call for humane treatment of migrants under international deportation policies.
An explosion at a mining site in Sabon Pegi, Mashegun Local Government Area of Niger State, claimed the lives of four individuals and left several others injured on Sunday morning.
The blast occurred as miners resumed operations, sending shockwaves through the community.
While the exact cause of the explosion remains undetermined, local residents have pointed to the poor handling of explosive devices by mining companies as a possible factor.
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The incident has sparked concerns about safety practices within the mining sector.
Community sources confirmed the recovery of four bodies, but authorities fear the death toll could rise.
Investigations are ongoing to establish the cause of the blast and assess the full extent of the damage.
One resident, Aminu, described the chaos that followed the explosion. “The sound was so loud that many of us thought it came from the hydroelectricity dam nearby. People panicked and ran into the bush for safety,” he recounted.
Another community member highlighted the potential role of mining operations in the tragedy.
“Mining companies here frequently use explosives during their activities, and this seems like an operational issue, not something related to terrorism,” the resident said, dismissing concerns about a security threat in the area.
As of the time of reporting, neither the state government nor security agencies have released an official statement regarding the explosion.
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