Tribunal Rules Against Witnesses In Ayade, Jarigbe Case

National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Calabar, Rivers State yesterday ruled against witnesses’ move to tender documents and materials that were not contained in deposed statement. 

The three-man panel headed by Justice M.A Sambo began the hearing following a petition with suit no. EPT/CR/SEN/02/2023 between former Cross River State governor Ben Ayade of the APC and his rival Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe of the PDP over the legally elected person for the seat of Cross River North senatorial district where the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe winner of the 2023 election.

Ayade had presented evidence from 310 polling units alleging that there were irregularities in the electoral process that brought the PDP candidate to power as a Senator  in the February 25, 2023, election to open up his case.

Lead counsel for Ayade’s legal team Prof. Mike Ozekhome, opened his case presenting over 700 documents and four witnesses.

At presentation of two of the principal witnesses from Bekwarra local government area of the state, Ayade’s counsel pleaded that the witnesses be allowed to identify the voters register as part of the evidence to prove their case of alleged irregularities.

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Mr Ozekhome cited some authorities that empowered him to present documents and materials for identification by the witnesses to buttress their defense.

On his part, counsel to Jarigbe, Mba Ukweni, raised an objection to it, siting relevant authorities on why the tribunal should not allow such in judicial processes of its magnitude, saying it would amount to abuse of rules of due process.

After listening to argument from both parties, chairman of the panel, justice M. A. Sambo, ruled against witnesses’ moves to plead or identify documents not deposed in the earlier statement.

He stressed that any fact not pleaded by witness or document not refereed to at the earlier statement, cannot also be identified or tendered by the same witness from the witness box during examination.

Sambo who spoke in company of other two panel of judges who includes C. Akabua and J. Zululu, maintained that the panel was yet to see anything that would convince them to depart from the point of law.

In a brief interview with journalists at the end of the court proceedings, Ozekhome stated: “We have tendered INEC documents and so many voter registers that showed there were some imperfections.

“We have called four witnesses so far to speak to these documents. But two of them were prevented from identifying their very polling unit result registers after the witnesses have said they are from that polling units.

“They have also mentioned registers, BVAS and voters. The only thing they said they did not do is that they should have said voters register. And the law is that pleadings are not evidence. It is evidence that cause the flesh that energises or enable pleadings.

“We believe the ruling was wrong and we are going to challenge it  in our final written addresses because a witness of a polling unit were made not to identify the documents and the tribunal said no you cannot identify them even when it has been tendered. We shall test that.”

Commending the ruling of court, counsel to Jarigbe, Ukweni, averred that the matter is progressing and it’s the reason they have called for witnesses after they finished tendering over 700 documents just as his team has cross-examined and would continue to do so till they are done.