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Court Dismisses LP’s 25% FCT Votes Claim, Says Abuja Like Other States

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The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) is set to deliver judgement today. Security is already beefed up ahead of the verdict.

Nigerians from all walks of life are waiting eagerly to witness the televised live proceedings from the Tribunal venue at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) are challenging President Bola Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

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02: 26 pm: Obi, LP Failed To Prove Tinubu Was Convicted In US, Tribunal Rules.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: LP Failed To Prove Claims Of Electoral Irregularities, Tribunal Rules

02:12 pm: Tribunal dismisses LP/Obi’s Petition on 25 per cent needed to win the presidential election.

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According to the court, FCT residents have no special privileges as the petitioners claimed.

1:28 pm: The court has rejected the reports of forensic analyses tendered by LP’s three witnesses. According to the court, they are either made during the pendency of the case or by an interested party.

This is as it rejected the European Union report on the polls, arguing that it was not tendered by an official of the body.

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12:31 pm: Tribunal Declares APC’s Petition On Obi’s Membership Incompetent.

READ ALSO: Court Declares APC’s Petition Challenging Obi’s LP Membership Incompetent [Live Updates]

The Court also declared APC’s petition challenging Obi’s membership of the LP as incompetent. Justice Abba says membership in a political party is an internal affair.

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The Tribunal also touched on the issue of non-joinder of Atiku Abubakar who came second and wondered how Obi & LP’s petition could be effectively determined without joining the candidate who placed second in the polls

12: 07 p.m. LP’s Widespread Irregularities Claim Generic – Court

While highlighting a claim by the respondents that Obi’s petition only alleged that there were widespread irregularities without giving the particulars and the polling units.

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Justice Abba Mohammed holds that In a presidential election held in 176,866 polling units in 774 Local Government Areas, it would be improper not to specify where there were irregularities.

According to him, the petitioners only made generic allegations.

Pleading must set out material facts and particulars. In the instant petition, there was no effort to prove specific allegations, particulars of complaints,” said the Tribunal.

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READ ALSO: Fee Hike: Policemen Take Over UNILAG Gate, As Students Protest

The law is clear that where someone alleges irregularities in a particular polling unit, such person must prove the particular irregularities in that polling unit before that petition can succeed, the Tribunal added.

The court said the petitioners did not prove the particular polling unit where the election did not take place nor did they specify particulars of polling units where there are alleged complainants of irregularities.

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“It was only in one instance that figures were given of alleged suppressed votes and we all know that elections are about figures,” it said.

LP alleged that INEC reduced their scores and added it to APC votes but failed to supply particulars of what they actually scored before the said reductions, neither did they supply the polling units where it happened….”

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Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

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A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

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READ ALSO:Indian National Arraigned In Lagos Over Alleged N22m Supermarket Fraud

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

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The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Intercepts Indian Lady With 72 Parcels Of Heroin ON n Chocolate Wraps

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

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Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

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Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

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The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

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READ ALSO:Strait Of Hormuz: Pakistan Thanks Trump For Pausing ‘Project Freedom’

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

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Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

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US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

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The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

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READ ALSO:US Restricts Entry Routes For Travellers From DRC, Uganda, South Sudan Over Ebola Outbreak

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

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Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

 

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