The Governorship election petition tribunal in Cross River is set to announce its judgment on Tuesday regarding the petition filed by Prof. Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of Sen. Bassey Otu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This information was disclosed in a statement released by the Secretary of the tribunal, Mr. Akawu Bambu, in Calabar on Sunday.
The lawsuit, with Suit No. EPT/CR/GOV/02/2023, was filed jointly by Onor and the PDP.
Onor and Otu’s legal representatives, J.Y. Musa, SAN, and Prof. Mike Ozekhone, SAN, respectively, submitted their written arguments, which were endorsed by the three-member tribunal.
In Musa’s conclusive statement, he informed the court that evidence extracted during the respondents’ cross-examination further strengthens their case and exposes the falsehood in the testimonies presented by the second and third respondents (Governor Otu and Peter Odey).
Onor concluded his case after summoning several witnesses, while Otu called upon 10 witnesses.
The tribunal, presided over by Justice Oken Inneh, had deferred its judgment after the parties presented their written arguments on August 13.
Musa clarified that the petitioners’ case does not revolve around accusations of forgery against any of the respondents (Otu and Odey). Thus, the authorities they referenced, stating the necessity to call witnesses from institutions, are irrelevant. Instead, their argument centers on the assertion that the second and third respondents provided false testimony under oath.
He maintained that Otu and Odey brought forth documents to demonstrate forgery. In their attempt to deny perjury, they inadvertently revealed inconsistencies, leading to further scrutiny.
“I, therefore, urge the tribunal to declare the votes of the second and third respondents wasted because they were not qualified to stand for the election and declare the petitioners winner of the elections,” he stated.
In his defense, the principal counsel representing the second and third respondents, Prof. Mike Ozekhone, SAN, implored the court to reject the petition “for being frivolous, unmeritorious, gold-digging, distracting and for constituting an abuse of the court process.”
He added that “withdrawal of grounds two and three by the petitioners sounded a death kernel to their petition because it was an admission that the elections were validly held.”
As for the representative of the first respondents (INEC), K.O. Balogun, he pressed the tribunal to reject the petition and also endorsed Ozekhome’s argument regarding the eligibility of the second and third respondents.
Ozekhome had implored the court to dismiss the petition, deeming it as baseless, lacking in merit, disruptive, and constituting a misuse of the court’s resources.
He further emphasized that the petitioners’ decision to withdraw grounds two and three dealt a fatal blow to their case, as it amounted to an acknowledgment that the elections were conducted validly.
“From my submission today, the truth is that, from the 10th of July 2023, when they withdrew grounds two and three of the petition, which talked about discrepancies, non-accreditation, non-e-transmission through BVAS, through over and all the other alleged malpractices.”
“That time when they withdrew those allegations which were funny and untrue allegations, their petition collapsed like a pack of cards,” he said.
According to reports, INEC declared Otu as the winner of the election after polling 258,619 votes to defeat the PDP candidate who scored 179, 636 votes.