Paul Ibe, the media aide for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, clarified why the PDP and Atiku withdrew the court application they had filed to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow their agents to inspect documents used in the February 25 presidential election. In a statement on Wednesday night, Ibe said the withdrawal was necessary because subsequent events rendered the application moot.
Earlier, Atiku had written to INEC demanding compliance with a court order that required the commission to permit him and his representatives to inspect, scan, copy, forensic‑audit, and obtain certified true copies of all electoral materials used in the presidential election. The Court of Appeal had indeed directed INEC to grant this unfettered access.
On 10 March 2023, the PDP filed a motion (number 12M) ex parte, accompanied by an affidavit of urgency, to enforce the court order. The court then instructed the PDP to put Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and INEC on notice. Consequently, the PDP filed a notice motion (number 13M) and an ex parte motion (number 13MA) for substituted service on Tinubu.
Ibe noted that at a conference on Tuesday involving lawyers from the PDP, Labour Party, APC, and INEC, INEC finally granted the PDP’s legal team access to the requested documents. When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, the two motions were withdrawn because the situation had already been resolved—access had been granted on Tuesday, making the motions unnecessary.
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