News Editor
The Governorship Election Petition sitting in Nasarawa State adjourned sitting to the 14th day of September, 2023, for the adoption of final written addresses after several weeks of oral arguements and presentation of evidences.
Our correspondent reports that the tribunal’s sitting for hearing of evidence came to a conclusion today, the 31st day of August, 2023, with the 3rd Respondent closing their case after calling a single witness who was subpoenaed to only produce documents. The witness, therefore, didn’t give any oral evidence on the documents as he merely produced and tendered the documents on the tribunal.
Facts gathered from the hearing is that that the Petitioner challenged the 3rd Respondent (and also the 1st Respondent) of having an incompetent reply to the Petition as It was brought to the attention of the tribunal that both the 1st and 3rd Respondents who are INEC and APC respectively, introduced a strange party to the proceeding which they so named SULE AUDU ADAMU instead of SULE AUDU ALHAJI as recognized by all INEC documents and the Petition as filed by the Petitioners.
A lawyer for the petitioner disclosed that the 3rd Respondent had “earlier filed a schedule to call 10 witnesses but in what seem to be a shocker due to the realisation of their fatal and incurable mistake of the misnomer in their parties’ names, hurriedly abandoned their case without calling a single witness apart from the INEC witness who only dumped disputable documents on the tribunal.”
At the end, the Respondents did not call a single witness in areas they alleged over voting, neither did they present evidence to that effect which includes the mandatory presentation of Forms EC8A, Voters Registers, BVAS Machines and Screen shots from the areas of over voting. “The Respondents were blinded in that regard as their allegation wears the garment of suspicion and was bound to woefully fail.”
Recall that the Respondents tendered some documents which are not the same with documents from the IREV and not in agreement with the duplicate copies given by INEC to all parties at the end of the election which the Petitioners tendered to the tribunal. “It is hoped that these questionable documents shall be properly scrutinized and its manufacturers brought to book.”
“Having seen the clear handwriting on the wall, Sule has mandated some politicised traditional Chiefs to meet with the Vice President and other persons with a view of influencing the tribunal.”
The 3rd Respondent closed its case by tendering its last document marked as exhibit RW “419”. “It is our prayer that the tribunal will overcome any 419 documents, and antics echoed one of the lawyers for the Petitioners.
