Tribunal adjourns Obi’s petition, as LP legal team alleges INECs refusal to be subpoenaed News

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Tribunal adjourns Obi’s petition, as LP legal team alleges INECs refusal to be subpoenaed

By Goodness Ndukuba on June 14, 2023

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has adjourned hearing on the petition filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party challenging the 2023 presidential election at the request of his lawyers.

Livy Uzoukwu, Obi’s lead counsel, at the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday, sought for an adjournment while decrying the refusal of Mahmood Abubakar, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)and other officials to be served with a subpoena to produce certain documents which it would use to prove its case in court.

"The bailiff of this honourable court said he could not serve the office of the Chairman of INEC because they refused service", Uzoukwu told the court.

He said he had approached INEC's lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud on the issue, and have resolved to give him a copy of the subpoena. "What I intend to do is to send it (copy of the subpoena) to him once I am done with proceedings today. I am confident that he would do the needful for us to continue tomorrow" he said.

But Kemi Pinheiro, INECs lawyer knocked Obi’s legal team for always heaping blame on the INEC whenever they want to seek for adjournment. He dismissed Uzoukwu's allegation that the office of the office of the INEC chairman has refused to be served subpoena.

"If there is a subpoena that ought to be served, there is a department responsible for that, it is wrong to say we refused to be served. If they want adjournment, we are not opposing to that, don't use INEC as a weeping boy.

"It is not correct that the office of the chairman of INEC refused to be served subpoena. In the PDP case, the subpoena served have been duly received and acknowledged", Pinhero said.

Earlier, Obi’s lawyer tendered more electoral documents to be used as evidence before the court.

He tendered from the bar blurred INEC Form EC8As on IREV which are not linked to any Local Government Area, IREV report for Gombe (8 LGAs) as well as blurred IREV results download for some LGA in Kaduna state.

He also tendered IREV certificate of compliance for six states, and duly certified BVAS reports and certificate of compliance for 28 states including Federal Capital Territory.

The five-man panel of judges led by Justice Haruna Tsammani admitted the electoral documents and marked them as exhibits despite opposition from all respondents in the petition.

The court adjourned the matter to Thursday, June 15, 2023.

Source Daily Sports Nigeria

Posted June 14, 2023