JUST IN: Tribunal Fixes September 14 Date As INEC Submits More Documents On State Election (DETAILS)

JUST IN: Tribunal Fixes September 14 Date As INEC Submits More Documents On State Election (DETAILS)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has submitted more documents related to the March 18 governorship election in Nasarawa State.

The State INEC Head of Operations presented these documents during the proceedings of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal held in Lafia, the state capital, on Wednesday.

During the hearing, Mathew Burkah SAN, Counsel to the APC, informed the tribunal that they had issued a subpoena to Gyang Dabung, who certified a certificate for the PDP.

He stated that the subpoena had been taken to the INEC Headquarters in Abuja on August 29th.

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However, the Commission’s Secretary declined to accept it. Burkah SAN also mentioned that they had filed two processes, namely the third respondent’s schedule of witnesses and schedule of documents, both dated August 30th, 2023.

Jibrin Samuel Okutepa SAN, the PDP Lead Counsel, confirmed that they had received the third respondent’s schedule of documents and witnesses. He noted that they were not aware of the subpoena issued to Gyang Dabung, an INEC staff, and requested a copy of the subpoena to respond appropriately.

Burkah SAN sought to tender various documents, including a copy of the subpoena served on the Head of Operations, INEC Lafia office, an original ID card, and an application.

The documents were marked as exhibits by Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi.

The State INEC Head of Operations, represented by Muhammad Yahaya Bello, a Senior Administrative Officer, testified before the tribunal. Muhammad stated that they were subpoenaed to provide documents used in the governorship election for 62 polling units.

He explained that they were unable to produce form EC8 A for certain polling units due to unavailability. The tribunal was informed that certain documents were missing, including form EC8 B for Akwanga.

APC Counsel Burkah SAN sought to tender all the documents as part of their defense, a request that was granted and marked as exhibits by the Tribunal.

In response to the presented documents and witnesses, the APC Counsel stated their decision to close their defense. The first and second respondents’ counsel did not object to this decision, and the Petitioners’ Lead Counsel also did not object. Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, granted the application and adjourned the hearing until September 14, 2023, for all counsel to present their final written addresses.