ABUJA – THE bid by Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, to sack
President Goodluck Jonathan from office, yesterday, suffered a major
setback, following the refusal of the Presidential Election Petition
Tribunal sitting in Abuja, to admit into evidence, election results from
35 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
It was the intention of the petitioner to rely on the said results, which were purportedly entered into Forms EC8 of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by all its agents that supervised different polling units across the federation, with a view to proving that the April 16 presidential election was rigged in favour of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
CPC equally lost its bid to tender before the tribunal, a hard disc, which it insisted would reveal the complicity of INEC in the alleged electoral fraud.
The Justice Kumai Baayan Akaahs-led five-man panel, declined and marked the intended evidence which the petition brought to court yesterday in 17 ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags, as rejected, following vehement objections raised against its admissibility by all the respondents in the matter, including President Jonathan and his vice, Namadi Sambo.
The respondents had unanimously challenged the legal propriety of allowing duplicate copies of result sheets from the 35 states and the FCT, which the petitioner sought to tender through its lead witness and mathematician, Mr Haruna Abuyayi Chonoko, into evidence, on the premise that it was not duly certified.
Arguing against its admissibility, counsel to INEC, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, contended that though the said Forms EC8 series could be regarded as primary evidence, but that same could not be tendered by the CPC witness who he said neither made it nor had personal knowledge of its contents.
INEC further argued that the CPC witness had in a statement he made on oath before the tribunal, admitted that he only participated in the collation of election results in Anambra State, noting that he was therefore bereft of the locus to tender photocopied result sheets garnered from other states of the federation.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayIt was the intention of the petitioner to rely on the said results, which were purportedly entered into Forms EC8 of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by all its agents that supervised different polling units across the federation, with a view to proving that the April 16 presidential election was rigged in favour of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
CPC equally lost its bid to tender before the tribunal, a hard disc, which it insisted would reveal the complicity of INEC in the alleged electoral fraud.
The Justice Kumai Baayan Akaahs-led five-man panel, declined and marked the intended evidence which the petition brought to court yesterday in 17 ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags, as rejected, following vehement objections raised against its admissibility by all the respondents in the matter, including President Jonathan and his vice, Namadi Sambo.
The respondents had unanimously challenged the legal propriety of allowing duplicate copies of result sheets from the 35 states and the FCT, which the petitioner sought to tender through its lead witness and mathematician, Mr Haruna Abuyayi Chonoko, into evidence, on the premise that it was not duly certified.
Arguing against its admissibility, counsel to INEC, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, contended that though the said Forms EC8 series could be regarded as primary evidence, but that same could not be tendered by the CPC witness who he said neither made it nor had personal knowledge of its contents.
INEC further argued that the CPC witness had in a statement he made on oath before the tribunal, admitted that he only participated in the collation of election results in Anambra State, noting that he was therefore bereft of the locus to tender photocopied result sheets garnered from other states of the federation.
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