BREAKING: Tribunal Court Rejects 10 Out Of Peter Obi’s 13 Witnesses, Gives Reason

BREAKING: Tribunal Court Rejects 10 Out Of Peter Obi’s 13 Witnesses, Gives Reason

The Abuja Presidential Election Petition Court has dismissed the testimonies and evidence presented by 10 out of the 13 witnesses brought forth by the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

In the verdict regarding the petition filed by Mr. Obi and his party challenging President Bola Tinubu’s election, the presiding judge, Haruna Tsammani, issued this decision.

As of the time of this report, the judge is still delivering the judgment.

Judge Tsammani declared that the witness statements on oath from the 10 witnesses, who were summoned to testify, lacked competence and were not admissible by the court. This was due to the fact that these statements were not included with the petition within the stipulated 21-day period for filing the case.

Mr. Tsammani, who was addressing the objection raised by Mr. Tinubu and other respondents to the petition, ruled that since the witness statements on oath were deemed incompetent, the 10 witnesses themselves were not qualified to testify in the case.

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He explicitly stated, “They are therefore not recognized as witnesses of this court.”

The judge emphasized that the petitioners were fully aware of the legal requirements regarding the submission of witness statements on oath but proceeded to present 10 witnesses without having their statements on oath filed along with the initial petition.

Mr. Tsammani referenced Section 285 of the Nigerian constitution, Section 137(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and other relevant provisions, highlighting that all witness statements on oath must be submitted concurrently with the petition.

He further noted that, as per Supreme Court precedent, once the 21-day period for filing an election petition expires, the contents of the petition cannot be modified. Additionally, no supplementary statements on oath can be submitted after this deadline, as it would deprive the respondents of the opportunity to respond.

Consequently, the court rejected the evidence presented by the 10 witnesses affected by this ruling.

Mr. Tsammani previously mentioned that Peter Obi had called 13 witnesses who testified as PW1 to PW13. Among these witnesses, the judge pointed out that only three were considered “their witnesses” whose statements on oath had been included with the initial petition. The remaining 10 witnesses had been summoned and had their witness statements on oath submitted after the commencement of the hearings.