All Progressives Congress (APC) has approached the Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division, to appeal the ruling of the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Makurdi, delivered on Thursday, June 15th, 2023, in petition No: EPT/BN/HR/4/2023.
In the Notice of Appeal served on Benjamin Mzondu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the APC is seeking, among other reliefs, an order to reopen their defense in the petition instituted by Benjamin Mzondu and the PDP at the national and state Assembly election petitions tribunal.
In the petition, the PDP and its candidate for Guma/Makurdi federal constituency in the 2023 elections, Mzondu, are challenging the declaration of Dickson Tarkighir of the APC as the winner of the election. They claim that Tarkighir was not qualified to contest the election at the time.
On June 15th, 2023, the APC, through its counsel Innocent Daa’gba, sought an adjournment to enable the party to call its sole witness after the intended witness failed to appear in court as scheduled.
Counsel for the PDP and Mzondu, Kenneth Ikonne, objected to the application for adjournment, arguing that it had been agreed, after the adjournment of June 14th, 2023, that the respondents would call their witnesses the following day.
After hearing the arguments from both parties, the three-member panel, led by Justice Amina Aliyu, agreed with Ikonne’s submission and denied the application for adjournment. Justice Amina Aliyu noted that the APC’s counsel did not provide reasons for the witness’s absence.
As a result, the APC proceeded to open and close its case without calling a witness.
Earlier, during cross-examination by the petitioner’s counsel, Tarkighir, the member representing Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency, attempted to tender his APC nomination form. However, the tribunal rejected it based on objections raised by Kenneth Ikonne, who argued that the form was a photocopy and not a certified document.
Under further cross-examination, Tarkighir told the tribunal that he had previously used the names Adaga Dominic Dickson and Adaga Dominic Tarkighir.
When asked how he was able to obtain a B.Sc certificate and an MBA in the same year, Tarkighir claimed that it was his party that filled out the form on his behalf, not him personally.
Ikonne then presented Tarkighir with a copy of his INEC form EC-9, where he had certified under oath that all the information contained in the form was true.
In the petition, the PDP and Mzondu alleged that Tarkighir had presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in his form EC9 (Affidavit in support of Personal particulars). They claimed that Tarkighir falsely certified under oath in paragraph “C” that he had obtained both a B.Sc and an MBA degrees in 2004, whereas he had not obtained an MBA degree in 2004, among other allegations.
The petitioners also alleged that Tarkighir had concealed the identities of the schools from which he obtained his educational qualifications, making it impossible to verify both the schools and the claimed qualifications, contrary to the requirements in Form EC9.
In the petition, the petitioners seek a declaration that Tarkighir was not qualified to contest the election at the time. They are also seeking an order to void the declaration and return of Tarkighir as the winner of the election to the House of Representatives for the Guma/Makurdi Federal Constituency of Benue State.
Furthermore, they are seeking an order to declare and return Benjamin Mzondu as the winner of the election to the House of Representatives for the Guma/Makurdi Federal Constituency of Benue State, among other requests.
The tribunal has scheduled July 11, 2023, for the parties in the petition to present their final written addresses.
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