The presidential election petition tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has dismissed the petition by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and its candidate, Ambrose Owuru, against the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
A five-man penal of the court in a ruling on Thursday, August 22, upheld the preliminary objection filed by President Buhari against the competence of the petition.
The Tribunal held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition because it talked about referendum.
It also added that the prayers in the petition are similar to what the petitioners sought in their pending cases before the Federal High Court on the same issues.
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Justice Mohammed Garba, who read the lead judgment, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition and that it constitutes an abuse of court process.
Justice Garba, therefore, dismissed the petition, a position other members of the panel agreed with.
The petitioners had sought to be pronounced the winners of the election on the grounds that they won a referendum, which they claimed was conducted when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the presidential election.