Drama as SDP witness contradicts deposition, says ‘I have eye problem’

The Election Petitions Tribunal on the Kogi State Governorship election literarily turned into a theater of drama, on Saturday, as six witnesses provided by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) entertained the court with different amusing submissions as they struggled to answer questions during cross-examination.

At the resumed hearing, all the six witnesses gave testimonies contrary to their depositions on oath and confirmed that they were not polling agents as stipulated by law, but voters.

An interesting part of the testimonies was when one of the witnesses, Yakubu Dahiru (PW 10), confronted with the contradictions between his claims and depositions, said he had not been able to see for the past one year, owing to an eye problem, yet he claimed to have written his witness deposition.

A witness, one Isah AbdulGaniu from Okene Local Government area, who said he was a fashion designer, also noted that he was neither a member of the SDP nor polling agent and denied knowledge of Form DCE-41, which was part of his deposition.

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In all, while some of the witnesses denied averments in their depositions, some claimed they made mistakes when it was found during cross-examination that what they said in court was different from what they submitted.

Some of the witnesses said they dictated the statement to their lawyers and later crammed it before coming to the Tribunal.

Despite the fact that their petitions showed the names of the petitioners, petition number and lawyers’ names, some of the witnesses interestingly claimed that they did not know the petitioners and their lawyers.

The testimonies of the six witnesses were similar in nature but visibly contradictory.

After the sixth witness, the petitioners’ lawyer, Pius Akubo SAN, sought for adjournment. The hearing was consequently adjourned to April 1, 2024, for continuation of hearing.

Kanu Agabi SAN represented the Independent National Electoral Commission, Alex Iziyon SAN represented Governor Usman Ododo, while Abdulwahab Muhammed SAN represented APC.

The witnesses from Okene Local Government Area who testified were: Isa Abdulganiyu, Aliyu Musari Abdul, Ohieku Rebeka, Abdulsalam Baki, Yakubu Dahiru and Ibrahim Majeed.