Tribunal rejects 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by Obi

The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja has rejected 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, in the petition challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu.

A five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani made the declaration while reading the judgement on the petition filed by Obi and the LP on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.

Tsammani said Obi called 13 witnesses, who testified as PW1 to PW13, noting that of the 13 witnesses, only three witnesses whose statements are on oath, were filed along with the petition.

The judge declared that the remaining 10 witnesses were subpoenaed, saying their witness statements on oath were only filed after the hearing started.

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Tsammani said by virtue of section 285 of the Nigerian constitution, section 137(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and other provisions, every witness statement on oath must be filed along with the petition.

Justice Tsammani stated that based on the Supreme Court authority, once the 21-day window for filing an election petition elapses, the content of the petition cannot be amended.

The judge added that the petitioners (Obi as LP) were aware of the legal provision relating to the filing of witness statements on oath, but went ahead to present 10 witnesses without their witness statements on oath earlier filed with the petition.

The Star