INEC Opens Defence Of Tinubu’s Election, Fails To Present Witness

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday in Abuja, opened its defence of the February 25 presidential election at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPEC) without presenting any witness.

INEC was supposed to open its defence of the exercise won by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but came to the court without any witness.

INEC lead counsel, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmud, SAN, told the court of his plan to call three witnesses to counter the allegations of the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Gregory Obi.

He, however, lamented that none of the witnesses was in court due to domestic reasons for him to open the defence.

The senior lawyer pleaded with the Court to bear with him and thereafter applied for adjournment of his defense.

However, lead counsel to Peter Obi, Dr Livy Uzuoku, SAN, expressed shock and surprise with the conduct of the electoral body.

He told the Court that the INEC lawyer ought to have taken him into confidence before the commencement of the proceedings.

However, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN and Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN, who stood in for President Tinubu and All Progressives Congress (APC) respectively, did not object to request for adjournment of INEC’s plea for the case to be shifted.

Presiding Judge of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, subsequently fixed a new date of July 4 for the electoral body to begin defense.