Proceedings @ PEPC
Court admits INEC’s Form EC8E, EC8A, EC8C from states as exhibit in Atiku’s petition
- Health of LP staffer stalls hearing of Obi’s suit
- INEC opposes admission of Commission’s documents
BY ANDREW OROLUA
The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, on Wednesday, admitted in evidence from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar’s bundle of evidence which comprises INEC Form EC8A, EC8E and EC8C for five states.
Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani also admitted the Certified True Copy of the printouts of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and accreditation data in respect of 33 states, with the exception of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Lagos states.
At the resumed hearing, counsel for the petitioner Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, applied to tender from the bar listed documents for admission. The document includes the download copy of INEC form EC8A for Kaduna, Ogun, and Bayesia states.
Also tendered and admitted as exhibits were INEC form EC8C, and form EC40G for Kogi, Kaduna, and Ogun states respectively.
However counsel for 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents Kemi Penhero SAN , Emmanuel Ogala SAN, and Adeniyi Akintola SAN respectively objected to the admissibility of the tendered documents .
Counsel for the INEC, Kemi Penhero, SAN did not opposed to admissibility of the document from Kogi state except those from Olamaboro, Okene, Ajaokeuta, Ofu and Omala local governments areas.
Counsel for the 2nd respondent, Adeniyi Akintola, SAN also aligned with the INEC counsel in objecting to the admisibility of document from the five LGA of Kogi state.
But for form EC40G, which is INEC inputs of polling units cancelled, counsel for 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondent opposed to it admissibility.
They said however that the reasons for their objections would stated in their final written addresses.
On the admissibility of BVAS from the 33 States , INEC did not opposed to their admissibility except that of Kogi, Sokoto and Rivers, however, the 2nd and 3rd respondents vehemently opposed to all states BVAS data listed for 33 States.
The States not queried by the petitioners in advancing their evidence in court includes Kaduna, Kano , Lagos and Katsina States.
Meanwhile, the ill-health of a key staffer in the secretariat of the Labour Party (LP) stalled the hearing of the petition the party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi lodged before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Wednesday, May 31,2023.
Obi and LP are challenging the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Recall that the five member panel of Justices of the court, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani had, on Tuesday fixed Wednesday for further hearings in their petition and alloted the period between 9 am and 2 pm for the hearing of the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and from 2pm to 6pm to hear the petition filed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and PDP who are also challenging Tinubu’s election.
Obi and his party were expected to continue with the presentation of their case by calling more witnesses and tendering documents, for which the court allocated four hours to them.
When the petition was called on Wednesday morning, Counsel to Obi and the Labour Party, Awa Kalu (SAN) told the court that they had planned to start with tendering of documents, but are constrained by some challenges at their secretariat.
Kalu told the court that key staff of the petitioners took ill, making it impossible for them to proceed with the business of the day and prayed the court for an adjournment till Thursday.
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Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), that of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for the APC did not object to Kalu’s request for adjournment.
Mahmoud however urged the court to record the day against the petitioners and deduct it from the number of days earlier allocated to them to present their case.
In his ruling, Justice Tsammani granted Kalu’s request for adjournment and adjourned till 9 am on Thursday.
