Nasarawa: Tribunal admits four witnesses in governorship election petition, adjourn to July 13

The Nasarawa state governorship election petition panel has accepted evidence from four witnesses who testified before it on Monday.

The legal battle is heating up as the tribunal resumes hearing the lawsuit brought by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, David Emmanuel Ombugadu, disputing Abdullahi Sule’s declaration as the winner of the March 18th governorship election in Nasarawa State.

The three-judge panel, led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, heard arguments and counter-arguments from counsel for Governor Sule, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The arguments centred on the admission of the complainants’ documents and witnesses.

During the sitting, the petitioner’s counsels led by M.J Numa presented documents including voter registers, lists of adhoc staff, and result sheets from several Local Government Areas to substantiate their claims. The respondents’ counsels objected to the admissibility of the documents but reserved their arguments for the final addresses.

Justice Ajayi reserved ruling on the admissibility of the documents but allowed the petitioner to tender the evidence before the tribunal. Witnesses from Lafia and Toto local government councils were called by the petitioners to substantiate the allegation of rigging. The defendants’ counsels objected to the witnesses’ testimonies and reserved their arguments for a later date.

The witnesses, who were PDP agents during the election, identified their deposition and alleged that they had signed the documents under duress. “We were made to sign the documents under duress,” the PDP agents stated.

Recall that David Emmanuel Ombugadu, who was also a governorship candidate in the 2019 election, approached the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Sule as the elected governor of Nasarawa State, citing irregularities in the conduct of the polls. Ombugadu also prayed for the tribunal to declare him the winner of the March 18th election based on the evidence presented before the court in accordance with the 1999 constitution as amended and the Electoral Act 2022.

Daily Sun Reports that the three-man panel of justices adjourned the sitting to July 13, 2023, for the continuation of the hearing. In solidarity with their respective camps, protesters from both the APC and PDP took prominent positions along Shendam road, where major government establishments, including the Government House, House of Assembly, and Judiciary Headquarters, are located. Anti-riot policemen partially cordoned the busy road to prevent any potential breakdown of law and order.