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Tag: Exhibits

  • Ayade, APC tender 749 exhibits, seek to upturn election of Sen. Jarigbe

    Ayade, APC tender 749 exhibits, seek to upturn election of Sen. Jarigbe

    Former Gov Ben Ayade and the All Progressives Congress have tendered 749 exhibits to upturn the election of Sen. Jarigbe Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the ongoing National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) in Cross River.

    The sitting in Calabar, which continued to the late hours of Tuesday, was however adjourned to 10 a.m. on July 26 due to the poor lighting system in the courtroom.

    The petitioners, Ayade and APC, called four witnesses for cross-examination from Bekwarra Local Government Area, one of the LGAs in the northern senatorial district of the state where they alleged electoral irregularities.

    However, a mild drama ensued in the courtroom when the lead counsel of Sen. Jarigbe, Mba Ukweni, SAN objected to the right of two witnesses of the petitioners to identify evidence P39 brought before the court.

    Ukweni argued that for a witness to be able to identify or tender a document from the witness box, he or she must have mentioned or referred to it in an earlier deposition.

    “It is similar to the rule of pleading; if you don’t plead any fact, you cannot lead evidence on it.

    “So, if a witness does not refer to a document in his statement, he cannot also identify the document from the witness box or have it tendered, not just in election cases but also in civil matters,” he said.

    Vehemently opposing the counsel to the respondent, Lead Counsel of the petitioners, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, said a witness could mention matters relating to the document in his deposition if he is a polling unit agent for his party.

    “Our witnesses have mentioned register, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, (BVAS) and voters, the only thing they said they did not do was that they should have said voter register in their deposition.

    “Our witnesses said they are from their polling units and can identify the document, the document was already tendered as exhibit, they were not trying to tender them but to identify them.

    “A witness from a polling unit can be made to look at the register of voters or any document from that polling unit which he has identified,” he said.

    Ruling on the matter, Justice M. A. Sambo upheld the objection of counsel to the respondent, Jarigbe and the PDP that a witness can only identify and speak on an issue contained in the deposition which he tendered.

    This decision did not go down well with the counsel to the petitioners as he disclosed that they would challenge it in the end in their final written address.

    Ayade is contesting the Feb. 25 Cross River Northern Senatorial District election in which Sen. Jarigbe of the PDP was declared winner.

  • JUST IN: Presidential Election Tribunal admits 48 compact discs as exhibits

    The Presidential Election Tribunal on Monday admitted 48 compact video discs in evidence from the PDP and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the suit challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory.
    The tribunal also ordered viewing of the discs in open court.
    Details shortly…

  • Presidential poll: Atiku tenders additional 26,175 exhibits in court against Buhari

    Presidential poll: Atiku tenders additional 26,175 exhibits in court against Buhari

    Former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has tendered as exhibits about 26,175 documents used for the February 23, 2019 presidential election in eight states.
    According to Nigerian Tribune, the documents were tendered on Friday, July 5, through his lead counsel, Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) at the presidential election petition tribunal sitting at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
    The additional document which comprised mainly the result sheets and receipts for the documents’ certification by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were in respect of the poll conducted in eight states, namely, Katsina, Kebbi, Borno, Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna and Kano states, reports say.
    The breakdown of the documents obtained from the eight states showed that, 3,378 came from Katsina, 2,106 came from Kebbi, 3,472 from Borno, 3,162 from Jigawa, 1,912 from Gombe, 3,539 from Bauchi, 3,335, from Kaduna and 5,271 came from Kano.
    Uzoukwu told the tribunal that the remaining ones from Kano state would be brought on Monday, which is the next adjourned date. The respondents, comprising the INEC, Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), all opposed the admissibility of the documents.
    Counsel to INEC, Yunus Ustaz Usman, that of Buhari, Mike Igbokwe (SAN) and that of the APC, Charles Edosomwan (SAN) told the tribunal that reasons for their objection would be made at the address stage of hearing in the petition.
    Peter Obi, the vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the election, stood for the petitioners, while Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stood for Buhari and Dare Oketade for the APC.
    Atiku and the PDP, are challenging President Buhari’s victory at the poll. At the hearing on Thursday, July 4, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN), Nigeria’s foremost constitutional lawyer, appeared on behalf of the PDP and Atiku.
    In his short remark, Nwabueze said he attended the proceedings to “underscore the importance” of the case, “notwithstanding of my age and attendant health challenges”.

  • $9.8 million fraud: Court admits two exhibits against NNPC ex-GMD

    $9.8 million fraud: Court admits two exhibits against NNPC ex-GMD

    Justice Abubakar Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja on Tuesday admitted into evidence a Certified-True-Copy of the interim order of forfeiture of 9.8 million dollars in the criminal trial of the former GMD of the NNPC, Andrew Yakubu.

    The court also admitted a certificate of delivery dated March 17, 2017 issued to the EFCC as proof of evidence that the money was kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The interim order was granted by the Federal High Court, Kano.

    The two documents were tendered by Counsel to the EFCC, Ben Ikani through Ahmed Yahaya who stood as a prosecution witness during the trial.

    Mr. Yahaya, a Deputy Detective Superintendent with the EFCC, said the commission had followed the due process in the discovery and safe keep of the money suspected to be proceeds of crime.

    He said the money was intact, adding that he had the conviction that the money was safe with the Kano branch of the CBN.

    Ahmed Raji (SAN), Counsel for the accused person, while cross examining the witness raised objection on why the money was kept with the CBN.

    According to him, the order of forfeiture made by the court did not direct that the money be domiciled with CBN.

    He also asked the witness to tell the court how sure he was about the safe condition of the money with the CBN.

    The questions were however, greeted with vehement objections from the counsel for the EFCC who said they were baseless and mis-directed.

    The judge, however, intervened by saying that the order of the court was explicit on whose possession the money should be kept.

    He said the Federal High Court in Kano had in its decision dated February 14, 2017 ordered that the money should be kept by the federal government.

    “We all know that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains the custodian of federal government’s money, instruments and bonds’’, he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr. Yakubu was arraigned by the EFCC on a six-count charge, bordering on non-disclosure of assets and fraud, charges to which he pleaded not guilty.

    Mr. Yakubu was alleged to have, as “Group Managing Director of NNPC, between 2012 and 2014, within the jurisdiction of the court, with intent to avoid lawful transaction, transported to Kaduna $9. 8 million and £74,000.”

    He was also accused of failure to disclose the sum of $9.8 million and £74,000 to the EFCC in his asset declaration form, a crime which contravened Section 27 (3) of the EFCC Act.

    Mr. Mohammed adjourned the case until February 28 for continuation of trial.