The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, on Tuesday, tendered 8,000 documents as exhibits against the election victory of Prince Dapo Abiodun in the March 18 election.
Adebutu had approached the Tribunal with a petition marked EPT/OG/GOV/03/2023 to challenge Abiodun’s victory at the polls.
He alleged that the election that brought Abiodun back into office was not in compliance with the Electoral Act and other corrupt practices perpetrated during the election.
Adebutu’s counsel, Goddy Uche SAN. urged the Tribunal to admit the documents as evidence against Abiodun.
He informed the Tribunal that he had served the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abiodun and the All Progressives Congress (APC), the first, second, and third respondents a 98-page schedule of documents, listing all the documents to be tendered before the court.
Uche said the exhibits included INEC forms; BVAS reports; forms ECAs; voters’ registers and printed IREV results while praying the court to allow him to call his witnesses for the commencement of the trial.
However, counsel to INEC, Peter Olatunbora, urged the Court not to admit the documents as exhibits, submitting that the petitioners should have availed the respondents of the documents before presenting them before the court.
It was the same submission by Counsel to Abiodun, Kehinde Ogunwunmiju (SAN), who prayed the court not to admit the documents as evidence, arguing that the petitioner did not follow the laid-down procedure for presenting documents before the court.
He prayed the court gives the respondents three days to allow them to inspect the documents before admitting them as evidence.
In his submission, counsel to APC, Kunle Kalejaye (SAN) accused the petitioner of attempting to railroad the court into admitting the documents as evidence.
“The application was served on us very late yesterday (Monday) and I’m just seeing it today. The petitioner should give us enough time to allow us to go through the documents, instead of attempting to railroad the court into admitting them as evidence,” Kalejaye said.
The Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Hamidu Kunaza, in his ruling, gave the petitioners two days to allow the respondents to inspect the documents.
Kunaza adjourned the case till Thursday, July 6.
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