INEC is interfering in Tinubu's defence of my petition, Atiku tells the tribunal.

Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the last election, told the Presidential Election Petition Court on Friday that the Independent National Electoral Commision, INEC, is a meddling interloper in its defence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on election qualifications.

Atiku specifically accused the electoral body of being overburdened and fishing in someone else's troubled waters.

INEC, through its counsel, Mr Kemi Pinhero SAN, at Friday’s proceedings, had moved a motion on notice praying the court to strike out some of the allegations against Tinubu by Atiku in his petition.

The electoral body pleaded with the court to strike out 32 allegations against Tinubu by Atiku in the petition challenging his former’s declaration as the winner of the February 25 Presidential election.

INEC said that the allegations, which formed 32 paragraphs in the Atiku’s petition, should be discountenanced by the court for various reasons comprising lack of jurisdiction.

But Atiku, through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, filed a counter affidavit in opposition to INEC’s request and asked the court to dismiss the electoral body’s position.

Uche argued in the counter affidavit that it was not the duty of INEC to do the battle or argue the case of Tinubu, who is the 2nd defendant in the petition.

Specifically, Atiku’s lead counsel insisted that INEC ought to be neutral but somersaulted by turning itself into a busybody and meddlesome interloper by taking up the defence of Tinubu against the provisions of the law.

He, therefore, asked the court to dismiss INEC’s motion for being a gross abuse of court process, lacking in merit and grossly incompetent.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, has fixed the ruling till the date of judgment in the substantive petition.