Gov Sule closes defence at tribunal, as APC opens its next week

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has closed his defence in a petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and its governorship candidate, Mr David Umbugadu, in the March governorship election in the state.

The governor’s counsel, Mubarak Adekilekun, made an application to that effect during a sitting of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Lafia, the state capital.

Having called 21 witnesses who testified in his support before the tribunal Governor Sule through his counsel, Adekilekun, applied to close his defence.

INEC lead counsel, Ishaka Muddie Dikko (SAN), Mathew Burkah (SAN) for APC, and the PDP lead counsel, Jibrin Samuel Okutepa (SAN), did not object to the application.

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Ruling on the application, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, granted the prayer of the governor’s application.

Meantime, seven more witnesses have testified in support of Governor Abdullahi Sule, submitting that the votes of APC were shortchanged during collation in their various wards.

The witnesses are; Adamu Ibrahim Ottos from Nasarawa LGA, Ibrahim Musa Mbada, Wamba, Ayuba Osu Obla, Agwada, Kokona LGA, Usman Sani, a resident of Kotoko in Shege Electoral Ward, Rabiu Musa, from Katakpa, Haruna Muhammad, from Kenyehu and Yohanna Faji all from Toto LGA.

All the respondent’s witnesses in their various testimonies maintained that INEC Presiding Officers used BVAS machines to authenticate voters and uploaded the results to iReV, claiming that the votes of their party, APC, have been shortchanged during entering at the ward collation levels.

However, PDP lead counsel, Jibrin Samuel Okutepa (SAN) sought to tender CTC of form EC8 A for Kotoko Polling Unit, 004, an application that was objected to by all the respondents’ counsels, with Mathew Burkah (SAN) for APC confirming that the said document contained in it fresh writing, no signature, and name of the INEC Presiding Officer.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, granted the application and marked the document as an exhibit, adjourning the hearing till Wednesday to Thursday next week for APC to open its defence.