Presidential Election Tribunal updates for June 2, 2023

Time: 10:5am

Labour Party Has Been called.

He Peter Obi has introduced himself as standing for himself and Labour Party!

Counsel appearances ongoing…

LP is being ably led today by Dr Livy Uzoukwu.

Time: 10:18am

LP: We are ready to continue with further tendering of documents

We filed a schedule comprising the documents we intend to tender this morning

Shall we proceed my lord?

Time: 10:25am

Peter Afuba SAN (Former Attorney Gen and Commissioner for Justice Under PO as Gov) will take charge of documents presentation today

LP: We are ready to continue with further tendering of documents. We filed a schedule comprising the documents we intend to tender this morning.

Court: You have up till 1pm

LP: Yes. Peter Afuba SAN will conduct the proceedings.

Court: Okay

LP: Before we continue with other states, we crave your permission to tender two other states that were not finished yesterday, that is Niger state and Rivers state. We tagged them as Supplementary documents.

In respect to Rivers, we have INEC CTC of form EC8s of 6 LGAs. These are:

1. Bonni LGA
2. Eleme
3. Abua Odua
4. Okirika
5. Ahorda East
6. Oyigbo

We respectfully seek to tender them in evidence.

Court: Any objection?

INEC: We will be objecting to the admissibility of these documents. Arguments in this respect were taken on the 30th of May. Issues were not joined in these LGAs and we’ll be advancing our grounds in Final Address. They are strange to the petition.

Court: You said you’ll mention in the Final Adress? When the court rules you don’t argue.

INEC: Sorry my Lords, it’s because news were being made in the media
Court: (cutting him short) Yes who is next?

2nd & 3rd Respondent: We oppose and will advance in Final address

4th Respondent: We object to the admissibility and will articulate our arguments in final address.

Time: 10:30am

Court: The bundles of Form EC8As of the LGAs are hereby ADMITTED & tagged Exh PD16- PD21 respectively

LP: Thank you my Lords. We also seek to tender form EC8A documents in respect of Bida LGA of Niger state.

Court: Any opposition?

INEC: We oppose and will advance our arguments in the final address.

Time: 10:54am

Dr. Afuba: “we would like to tender documents for 21 LGA in Adamawa state.

Judge: “it’s Adamawa not “Ajamawa.”

Dr. Afuba: “thank you my lord.”

Court laughs.

All evidences presented in court for Adamawa and what was left off yesterday for Rivers and Niger state have all been admitted by the court despite objections

List of LGA in Adamawa submitted to the court by LP:

1) Kpenyen
2) Ubi south
3) Ire
4) Sorn
5) Yola north
6) Pon
7) Miha
8) Jaba
9) Ishiga
10) Shelem
11) Elo- Kpewa
12) Umah
13) Ubi south
14) Gwaga
15) Besa
16) Ubi
17) Uyut
18) Dogho
19) Yola south
20) Ofore
21) Baode

Time: 10:59am

LP’s Dr. Afuba is now calling on Bayelsa state with 8 LGA and EC8A attached.

LP: May I now respectfully move to Bayelsa state. We seek to tender CTCs of Forms EC8As in respect of 8 LGAs in Bayelsa set schedule of documents. They are:

1. Southern Ijaw
2. Nembe
3. Sagbama
4. Yenegoa
5. Ekeremo
6. Kolokuma
7. Brass
8. Ogbia

Time: 11:8am

Court: (Justice ) Since there is no Northern Ijaw, my learned brothers here are suggesting I come from there.

LP: After all my learned Senior here is “Awa” (Sounds Like Hauwa Kalu) therefore he’s from Adamawa.

Everyone Laughs

INEC: We oppose and shall advance our reasons in Final address.

2nd & 3rd: We oppose and shall advance reasons in address

4th: We object the admissibility of these documents and will articulate our reasons in our final address.

Court: All Documents for Bayelsa State is ADMITTED and marked as ExhPJ1-PJ8

LP: Next is Oyo State at Pages 18-28 of our schedule. Before I apply to tender the documents In respect to this. May I draw you Lordship’s attention to a repetition. We seek to delete number 31 from our schedule.

We hereby Apply to tender in evidence of 31 LGAs in Oyo State.

Time: 11:19am

LP : We hereby tender for LGAs in Oyo. They are:

1. Afijio
2. Akinyele
3. Atiba
4. Atigbo
5. Eweda
6. Ibadan North
7. Ibadan North East
8. Ibadan North West
9. Ibadan South East
10. Ibarapa central
11. Ibarapa East
12. Ibarapa North
13. Ido
14. Irebo
15. Isheyi
16. Itesiwaju
17. Ewajowa
18. Tajola
19. Lagbelu
20. Ogbomosho North
21. Ogbomosho South
22. Ogbo-oluwa
23. Olorunsogo
24. Oluyole
25. Ona ara
26. Ori-ire
27. Oyo East
28. Oyo West
29. Saki East
30. Saki West
31. Surulere

INEC: We object and will advance our reasons

2nd & 3rd: We also oppose and will advance our reasons in final address.

4th: We object to the admissibility and will advance reasons in final address.

Court: 31 bundles of CTC of EC8As for Oyo State are Hereby ADMITTED as evidence and marked Exh PK1-PK31

LP: We move to Edo state. We seek to tender EC8As in respect to 18 LGAs.

Time: 11:34am

LP: For Edo State, EC8As in respect to 18 LGAs. Namely:

1. Essang
2. Ovia South West
3. Ihunmwode
4. Esan North East
5. Akoko Edo
6. Ikpoba-Okha
7. Esan South East
8. Egor
9. Etsako Central
10. Etsako East
11. Ovia North East
12. Owan West
13. Oredo
14. Igueben
15. Osaka West
16. Orhionmwon
17. Owa East
18. Esan West

Court: Any opposition?

INEC: We are opposed to this and will advance our reasons

2nd & 3rd: We oppose and will advance our reasons

4th: We align ourself with the opposing of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents.

Time: 11:53am

Court: Bundles of documents for form EC8As of 18 LGAs in Edo state are hereby ADMITTED as evidence and marked Exh PL1- PL18

LP: My Lords we wish to proceed to Lagos state on pages 36-44 of our schedule. In respect to 20 LGAs. We wish to tender form EC8As in these areas as evidence. Namely:
1. Apapa (One Justice asks as if he didn’t hear “what is the name of the first LGA again?” Counsel repeats “Apapa”. Court laughs. PJ says: “it reminds my learned brother of something”. Court laughs.)
2. Lagos Island
3. Lagos Mainland
4. Ikorodu
5. Amuwo Odofi
6. Ibeju-Lekki
7. Ikeja
8. Ifakoijaye
9. Kosofe
10. Oshodi-Isolo
11. Alimosho
12. Eti-Osa
13. Somolu
14. Mushin
15. Surulere
16. Agege
17. Epe
18. Ojo
19. Badagry
20. Ajeromi-Ifelodun
Court: Any opposition?

INEC: We indicate our objection on admissibility of documents sought to be tendered from Lagos and we shall advance our reasons for this objection in due course.

2nd & 3rd: We object and will advance reasons later.

4th: We also object to the admissibility of all the documents in respect to Lagos state and we are confident by the time we advance our reasons in the final address, the Petitioners would have laboured in vain.

Court: Bundles of documents of Form EC8As for 20 LGAs of Lagos state are hereby ADMITTED as evidence and marked Exh PM1-PM20.

Time: 12:10pm

LP: We respectfully move to Akwa-Ibom state. We have 31 LGAs. Please there is a repeat of Eastern Ogbulo. We wish to delete one, making it 31 LGAs. My Lords we seek to tender form EC8As CTC by INEC in these 31 LGAs as evidence. Namely:

1. Esit Eket
2. Obot Akara
3. Mpat Enin
4. Ibesikpo Asutan
5. Ibeno
6. Ika
7. Eket
8. Nsit Atari
9. Etim Egbo
10. Urua Anan
11. Ibiono Ibom
12. Orkanafun
13. Mbo
14. Ikono
15. Nsit-Ibom
16. Nsit-Ubium
17. Abak
18. Ikot Ekpene
19. Essien Ode
20. Eastern Ogolo
21. Oron
22. Ikot Abasi
23. Uyo
24. Okobo
25. Uruan
26. Urue-Offong/Oruko
27. Ini
28. Onna
29. Udung Uko
30. Etinan
31. Itu

INEC: We oppose and will advance reasons

2nd & 3rd: We oppose and will also advance reasons

4th: We object the admissibility of these documents from Akwa Ibom and will advance reasons in our Final Address.

Court: Bundles of documents of form EC8As from 31 LGAs in Akwa Ibom are hereby ADMITTED as evidence and marked as Exh PN1 – PN31 Respectively!

Time: 12:36pm

LP: May I apply pursuant to paragraph 40(6) sub paragraph 4 of the 1st Schedule to the electoral act for all the certified true copies of INEC documents which we have so far tendered in this petition to be taken as read.

INEC: In view of the objections raised by us, on behalf of the 1st respondent we do not give our consent.

2nd & 3rd: My Lords we maintain the same stand with the 1st respondent and don’t give our consent.

4th: Given our object to the admissibility of all the documents sought to be tendered by the petitioners in evidence, we invariably oppose to this application.

LP: I am shocked and surprised that they are opposing to this.

Court: (Jokes) just come prepared for any surprise so you’ll not developers BP.

LP: We have exhausted the documents we have for today but we will be ready on the next date with more documents including documents from Subpoenaed witness from INEC. However my Lord, all respondents have agreed that it should be adjourned till Monday as opposed to tomorrow. If it is not PREJUDICED, and our time will not be counted.

Court: No adjournment till Monday. Come tomorrow.

LP: Okay my Lord we will come tomorrow my Lords!

2nd & 3rd: We are pleading that some of us need to travel out of here as we are not from here so we are all parties in this petition pleading with your Lordships to come back on Monday and not tomorrow.

INEC: We are concerned that your Lordships have been sitting for 9 hours and we too. So we solicit your Lordship’s permission.

4th: I also yield and seek for Monday since the Petitioners raised the application.

Petitioners: We are ready to come tomorrow if it will affect our time.

Court: Well since the Counsels have discussed and agreed, we will grant the adjournment only for this Saturday and not further. It will not affect the petitioners time.

Court adjourned till Monday June 5th 2023

Justice Added that from Monday, sitting of LP will start by 2pm!