The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Thursday, admitted documents from the counsels for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, led by Goddy Uche, SAN, after changing the earlier mode of presentation which was in conflict with procedure rules.
It would be recalled that the counsels for the respondents – the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Dapo Abiodun, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – on Tuesday, raised objections against the failure of the petitioners’ counsels to have presented envisaged undisputed documents through the bar before presenting same before the panel, to allow all parties involved in the case to verify and authenticate, as stipulates by procedure rules.
The tribunal, however, directed the PDP’s counsels to go back and allow other parties in the case to scrutinise and authenticate those documents to be tendered and come back today to represent.
After complying with the directive, the documents were, therefore, admitted provisionally by the tribunal, in response to the observation of one of the counsels for the respondents, who hinted the tribunal of possibility of objections to some of the documents tendered by the petitioner’s counsels.
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However, while the proceedings were still on, and documents still being tendered and admitted, some media organisations reported that all documents brought by Adebutu’s team had been admitted.
A counsel for one of the respondents called the attention of the tribunal to the misinformation, describing it as propaganda about the proceedings of the panel.
The lead counsel for the petitioners was later advised to warn his clients and their supporters against misleading the general public through sensationalised stories in the media.
Meanwhile, all parties agreed in principle that all documents should be admitted by the panel and objections should come in their final addresses, as the counsel for the petitioner, Goddy Uche, SAN, prayed the court to allow him to call all his schedules out one by one and be marked in the court while the panels read confirmation to the court at the next sitting to ensure all documents are formally handed and presented to the court.
The first 126 pages were, therefore, called and agreed to by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd counsels for the respondents’ claiming to reserve comments till a later date.
The petitioners’ lead counsel informed the court that he already has his witnesses set and filed for the day.
