Tribunal Dismisses Atiku’s Claim That Security Operatives Rigged Election For Buhari

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has dismissed parts of petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, alleging that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) used security officers to manipulate the 2019 election in favour of Muhammadu Buhari.

The court’s decision followed an application by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking the nullification of various parts of the petition by the PDP.

The PDP had in its petition accused the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, and major government agencies including INEC and security agencies of culpability in the manipulation of election results to the benefit of Mr Buhari.

However, during the court during a decision on Wednesday before the final determination of the petition, the tribunal ruled that INEC was right in submitting that the PDP ought to have included the security officers mentioned in the petition as part of the suit.

The court removed parts of the petition relating to the alleged involvement of security officers in the manipulation of results as put forward by the PDP.