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Tag: Tribunal

  • JUST IN: Tribunal orders Tambuwal, PDP to present all witnesses Wednesday

    The 2019 Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Sokoto has ordered the 2nd and 3rd Respondents, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to present all their witnesses in Court on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
    The tribunal’s decision was reached at its sitting Tuesday and was sequel to an application for adjournment to July 31, 2019, by the Lead Counsel of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Barrister Emmanuel Ukala, SAN.
    The adjournment was sought by Ukala to enable him to continue with the presentation of his witnesses, just after presenting three weak witnesses on subpoena.
    However, the 2nd and 3rd Respondents had earlier at the pre-hearing proceedings of the Tribunal told the Court that they have 42 and 33 witnesses respectively to present before the tribunal.
    Penultimate week, the 1st Respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had failed to present the twelve witnesses it earlier claimed to have.
    The Tribunal Chairman, Justice Abdullahi Bawale, had vehemently objected to Ukala’s application for adjournment, insisting that, the 2nd Respondent must present all his witnesses to the Court Wednesday.
    The Lead Counsel for the 3rd Respondent, Aare Akinmuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, could not present any witness as ordered by the Tribunal.
    He said, “we were just waiting to see where the 2nd Respondent would stop, then we take from there.”
    The Lead Counsel for the Petitioners, Dr Alex Izinyon , SAN, had also strongly objected to the application for an adjournment by the 2nd Respondent.
    Ukala had earlier tendered some documents to the Tribunal, from the Bar and they were admitted as “Identifications -IDs,” by the Court.
    Izinyon also objected to the development, saying, “we object to doing this, although we reserve our objection.”
    They include the results for Labe-Labe Primary School Polling Unit, Bashire / Maikada ward, in Tambuwal Local Government, Randa-Randa Polling Unit, Fura Girke ward, Tureta Local Government and Shiyyar Noma polling unit, Shinaka ward of Goronyo Local Government.
    The Court, however, ordered that photocopies of the documents be made in the Court, while the originals should be returned to INEC, for the safety of the documents, as prayed by Alhassan Umar, Counsel to the 1st Respondent, INEC.
    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Alhaji Abubakar Sadeeq Musa, represented by an Administrative Officer, Bashir Ahmed Tahir, had earlier been subpoenaed by the Tribunal, where he tendered some documents before the Tribunal.
    The documents include Forms EC8 A and Forms EC8 B from some polling units in Tambuwal, Goronyo, Tureta and Wurno Local Governments.
    They were the original results sheets and the summary of the same polling units.

  • Borno: Tribunal reserves judgment in suit challenging Ndume

    Borno: Tribunal reserves judgment in suit challenging Ndume

    The Borno National and State Houses of Assembly elections petition tribunal on Tuesday, reserve judgment in a suit challenging the election of Sen. Mohammed Ndume.
    Malam Kudla Satumari and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on March 15, filed a petition with number EPT/BO/SEN/1/2019 before the tribunal.
    They are challenging the declaration of Ndume of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as winner of the Borno South Senatorial District conducted on Feb. 23, 2019.
    APC and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were also joined in the suit.
    Justice Peter Kekemeke, Chairman of the tribunal adjourned for judgment after parties adopted three final written addresses.
    He added that parties would be communicated appropriately.
    Mr Marcel Oru, counsel for Ndume, submitted that it was of no use to allow the tribunal to go through the voluminous documents brought by the petitioners.
    He said that the tribunal is not here to investigate but to adjudicate and no matter how beautiful a final address, it can not stand without evidence.
    He therefore urged the tribunal to discountence the petition.
    Counsel for APC , Mr Yusuf Ali, SAN urged the tribunal to give the petition a decent burial.
    He said out of the 1,305 polling units in the district, the petitioners were challenging 119 units if the results of 119 units were given to them would not poll the desired number of votes.
    He said out of the 14 witnesses called none was a polling unit agent none was present at the polling unit and only based their evidence on second hand information.

    Ali therefore urged the tribunal to discountence the petitioners petition.

    Counsel for INEC Oluwafemi Ademola adopted their final written addresses also.
    Mr Phillip Kyelek in his submission urged the tribunal to examine and evaluate the exhibits before it and pass the judgment in the favour of the petitioners.
    He said all the issues raised by the Respondents were answered in the final address.
    In the petition made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Satumari averred that the election was marred by corrupt practices and non- compliance with provision of the Electoral Act.
    He therefore, sought the order of the tribunal for cancellation of the election and for INEC to conduct fresh election for the Senatorial District within 90 days.
    Responding, Ndume in his reply to the petition made available to NAN also, denied the allegations in most of the paragraphs of the petition.
    In his reply filed on April 10, he argued that the said Borno South Senatorial election was free and fair and not fraught with irregularities and non- compliance with the Electoral Act.
    Ndume denied the allegations and averment contained in the petition and demanded the petitioners for strict proof in accordance with the law to the extent of their materiality to the petition.
    He therefore, averred to prove during trial that the petition was defective, incompetent for the compliance of the Electoral Act.
    Similarly, the petition filed by Mohammed Abdullahi and PDP challenging the election of Aji Kolo Khadi of APC into the State House of Assembly representing, Jere Local Government was also taken.
    Parties adopted their final written addresses and judgment also was reserved.

  • Kaduna guber: El-Rufai closes case at tribunal

    Kaduna guber: El-Rufai closes case at tribunal

    Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state, who is the second respondent on the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Hon. Isa Ashiru at the election tribunal has closed his case on Wednesday, after calling two witnesses.
    The second witness who gave evidence on Wednesday was Forensic and a Hand Writing expert, retired DSP Olufemi Ayodele.
    Mr. Ayodele who adopted his written statement as evidence before the tribunal explained that only a few witnesses signed the documents of the petitioner, based on his findings.
    “After analyses of the signatures on the statement of oath, it was found out that only three persons were responsible for the signing of about 624 signatures of the petitioner. One of them was solely responsible for signing 471, another person signed 144, the third person signed nine signatures,” the witness said.
    Under cross-examination, Ayodele said that he is not a consultant but a professional.
    However, the petitioner’s counsel, Mr. E. Y Kurah (SAN), referred him to paragraph five of his petition where the witness referred to himself as a principal consultant.
    Ayodele clarified that he had referred to himself as a consultant in the document as a way of introduction but as a witness in court, he is a professional.
    The petitioner’s counsel asked him whether he was paid to do the job of a Forensic Analyst and the witness answered in the affirmative but refused to disclose his professional fee.
    Mr. Ayodele also said that he has no allegiance to the person who hired him, adding that his testimony was to assist the tribunal as best as he can.
    When asked if he knew the theory of forensic analysis which suggests that analysts tend to favour those who hired them, the witness said that he is not aware of it.
    The witness, however, agreed with the petitioner’s counsel that accidental and natural variations occur in signatures.
    Barrister Kurah (SAN) tendered a document titled “Adversarial Allegiance amongst expert witnesses, which was opposed by counsel of the first, second and third respondents.
    The tribunal adjourned to enable the third respondent, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to continue with its defence on Thursday.
    Speaking after the proceedings, Barrister AbdulHakeem Mustapha (SAN), counsel to the second respondent, noted that what matters most is the quality of witnesses and not the number.

  • PDP tenders 241 exhibits against Ganduje at tribunal

    Abba Kabir-Yusuf, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 23 Governorship election in Kano State, on Monday, tendered 241 exhibits before the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
    Kabir-Yusuf and his party, the PDP, are challenging the declaration of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election.
    Named as respondents in the petition are Ganduje, APC and INEC.
    The petitioners’ Counsel, Mr Adeboyega Owomolo, SAN, who tendered the exhibits before the tribunal, said his team hoped to bring additional exhibits to prove their case.
    Owomolo told the court that amongn the exhibits were certified true copies of results sheets from polling units contained in form EC8As, EC8Bs from Albasu, Bebeji, Bichi, Danbatta, Garun Malam, Gwarzo, Karaye, Kura, Madobi, Nasarawa, Rano, Rogo, Sumaila, Tudun Wada and Warawa Local Government Areas of the state among others.
    Counsel to the respondents, Mr Offiong Offiong, and Ahmad Raji, both SANs, had opposed tendering of the exhibits.
    Offiong told the court that the petitioners had brought to court bags and not certified copies of the election results.
    “The petitioners did not make the documents available for us to see, they only brought out bags , I am only concerned with the content, ” he said.
    However, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Shamaki, dismissed the objection and accepted the documents as exhibits and adjourned sitting to July 23, for the continuation of hearing.
    NAN reports that no fewer than 785 witnesses are expected to appear before the election tribunal to testify for both the APC and PDP on the conduct of the March 2019 governorship election in the state.

  • Kebbi guber: Tribunal dismisses petition challenging Bagudu’s victory

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Birnin-Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital on Monday dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu in the last 2019 governorship Election.
    In the ruling, the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu leading other two Justices affirmed that the petition of the PDP lacked all necessary evidence that can portray the election as full of irregularities and election malpractices as claimed by the PDP and its candidate, Senator Isa Galaudu.
    Justice Amina Aliyu, therefore, submitted that the case is therefore struck out for lacking merit.
    Reacting to the judgement, Counsel to Governor Bagudu and the APC, Yakubu Maikiyau SAN, told newsmen in an interview that the pronouncement by the Tribunal Justices was in order in its entirety, adding that himself and his team of Lawyers feel great and good.
    Maikyau, however, said that in case the PDP feels dissatisfies with the judgement and headed for the Appeal Court, they would not be distracted but follow them accordingly.
    He pointed out that to challenge the decisions of the Tribunal at the Appellate Court is a fundamental right of anybody.

  • Presidential poll: Atiku closes case at tribunal, insists results were electronically transmitted

    Presidential poll: Atiku closes case at tribunal, insists results were electronically transmitted

    Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have closed their cases at the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja.
    The closure came after the testimony of their last witness, Osita Chidoka, a former aviation Minister, who served as the National Collation Officer for the party.
    Although Chidoka claimed in his written statement, that results were transmitted electronically, he could not, under cross-examination, sustain that claim.
    Chidoka could not provide the address of the said server and information about its location.
    He said he got information that results were transmitted to an INEC server from a whistleblower.
    Chidoka, who confirmed that results were collated from the polling unit level, through ward, state and national levels manually, admitted that what the information contained in all his statements are from the information he got from his party’s agents.
    The court has adjourned till July 29 for the defendants to open their defence, beginning with INEC, listed as the first defendant.

  • Kaduna guber: Tribunal adjourns as El Rufai opens defence

    The Justice Ibrahim Bako-led Kaduna State Governorship Election Tribunal has adjourned sitting to Tuesday, July 23 to enable the second respondent bring more witnesses at the hearing of the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Isa Ashiru, challenging the March 9 election.
    The second respondent, who opened his defence on Friday, was able to arraign just one witness before moving for adjournment.
    Earlier, Malam Hussaini Barmo who was a member of the Election Planning and Monitoring Directorate of Kaduna State Chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC), adopted his deposition as evidence before the tribunal.
    Cross examining the witness, counsel of APC, the third respondent, Barrister Sharafa Yusuf, asked him to confirm the results from Kubau local government, which Barmo did.
    The witness also confirmed that the results were for voting points where the number of voters exceeded 750.
    Malam Barmo also told the tribunal that results from each of such voting points were added to the mother polling units before the aggregate votes were recorded in the forms EC8E.
    Also cross examining the witness, counsel to the petitioner, Barrister Hassan El Yakub asked Barmo whether he was an agent of APC during the last election and he answered in the negative.
    The witness however said that APC had agents in every ward throughout the state “but I was not one of them.”
    Barmo further said that he got the information on pages 15 to 56 of his deposition “from party agents across polling units, wards and local governments of the state. ”
    Barmo also said that he didn’t visit any polling unit, adding “the only polling unit that I went to was the one where I voted at Sardauna Crescent in Kaduna North local government.”
    Counsel to Governor Nasir El Rufai who is the second respondent, AbdulHakeem Mustapha (SAN), moved a motion for adjournment to enable him arraign more witnesses, which the tribunal granted.

  • Presidential poll: You can’t amend petitions against Buhari, Tribunal tells HPD

    Presidential poll: You can’t amend petitions against Buhari, Tribunal tells HPD

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday rejected move by the Hope Democratic Party (HPD) to amend some of its petitions against the election of President Muhammdu Buhari in the last presidential election in Nigeria.
    A five-man panel of the court in two rulings unanimously rejected the the two documents filed by HDP and its presidential candidate during the election, Ambrose Owuru.
    The court dismissed a motion filed by the HPD on July 1, 2019, seeking to include more witnesses and effect some amendments to their witnesses’ statement on oath.
    In the second ruling, the court held that the document titled: “notice to contend,” filed by the petitioners was unknown in law.

  • Kano guber: Tribunal orders Ganduje, Abba to appear in court

    The chairman of Kano Governorship Election Tribunal Justice Halima Shamaki on Tuesday told Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, (APC) and Abba Kabiru Yusuf, (PDP) to desist from sending their representative before the court, to witness the ongoing state governorship election proceedings.
    The judge on two sittings declined to recognize the representatives sent by the duo to witness the court process.
    At the last court session, chairman, All Progressive Congress, (APC) Kano state chapter, Abdullahi Abbas informed the court that he is in court to represent Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
    In the same vein, a former aide to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Yunusa Dangwoni announced his appearance on behalf of PDP Governorship candidate, Abba Kabiru Yusuf.
    The tribunal judge noted that the duo of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Abba Kabiru Yusuf are not allowed to appear before the court by proxy.
    Justice Shamaki said “ they can not be represented, if they want to come they should come, I said it and I expect counsel to guide them properly.”
    Delivering the tribunal pre-trial report Justice Shamaki urged counsels to the parties involved in the matter, to be ready to work within the set out time frame, Shamaki cautioned lawyers appearing before her to be weary of time, stressing that election proceedings are time-bound.
    She disclosed that star witnesses would be accorded 20 minutes to testify, while other witnesses would be accorded 10 minutes to testify.
    According to her, 253 PDP witnesses will all testify within the period of 14, disclosing that, INEC, Ganduje and All Progressive Congress, APC would be allotted 10 days each to present their witnesses.
    She further reiterated her commitment to respect of time by saying “ I am like a moving train, I cannot be stopped, I do not allow waste of time, I said it.”
    “I will not entertain request for adjournment from any junior lawyer, all of you in your team have more than one SAN, we must move fast, because of time .”She cautioned.

  • Delta guber: Tribunal rejects Okowa’s pleas for more time

    Delta guber: Tribunal rejects Okowa’s pleas for more time

    …as Ogboru close case
    The Justice Suleiman Belgore- led Delta State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal Panel 1 has rejected an application for more time by Damain Dodo (SAN) lead counsel to 1st respondent, Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
    Dodo had argued for more time to study the petition following a closure of the petitioner’s case on Tuesday.
    But Justice Belgore rejected the oral application and held that the 1st respondent’s defence has ten days for its defence commencing from 17th of July, 2019.
    Great Ogboru and APC, having called about twenty (20) witnesses, closed their case.
    The petitioners also tendered documents including voters’ registers and results from polling units level up to State level (EC8A’s to EC8E’s) in proof of their case.
    Joined in the petition marked EPT/DT/GOV/01/2019 are Gov Ifeanyi Okowa as 1st respondent, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 2nd respondent while Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 3rd respondent.
    Dissatisfied with the victory of Delta Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa at the governorship polls, Ogboru had approached the tribunal seeking legal redress.
    Amongst the petitioner’s prayers are that it be declared that the total votes for him should be 215,938 while that of the 1st respondent (Okowa) and 2nd respondent (PDP) should be 155,192 votes.
    He is also seeking that the certificate of return issued to the 1st and 2nd respondents be declared null and void.
    The petitioner wants to be returned having scored the highest number of lawful votes cast and that the 3rd respondent (INEC) should issue the petitioner’s with the certificate of return as duly elected Governor of Delta State.
    Alternatively, the election to the office of Governor of Delta State held on March 9th be nullified and fresh election ordered.
    Hearing for the defence of the 1st respondent comes up on Tuesday, 23rd of July, 2019.