As a subpoenaed witness, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) employee Emmanuel Damis came before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday and presented Governor Peter Mbah’s credentials.
The third Petitioner’s Witness, Mr. Damis, is employed by INEC’s Abuja headquarters’ Legal Drafting and Clearance Department.
The petition submitted by Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party against Mr. Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently being heard by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
For allegedly falsifying his NYSC certificate, Mr. Mba is being asked to be disqualified by the tribunal by Mr. Edeoga.
The counsel for the second and third respondents objected to the tendering of papers and denied the counsel for the petitioner, Eyitayo Fatogun, the right to re-examine the witness when the subpoenaed witness entered the witness booth to present the documents on the evidence.
The INEC officials then presented Mr. Mbah’s certificates, which he had also included with his candidature paperwork for governor.
The witness states that the PDP candidate for governor of Enugu State’s Form EC9 and accompanying attachments are the documents he is carrying.
The documents that the LP attorney requested to submit as exhibits were accepted as evidence by the tribunal.
But Mr. Fatogun, the attorney for the petitioners, also mentioned several instances that he claimed supported the witness’ testimony after being subpoenaed.
The PDP and Mr. Mbah both raised objections to the materials’ admission. They saved their concerns, though, for the printed address.
According to The Punch, the respondents’ attorney objected to his testimony because a witness must first take an oath before giving a deposition under oath, citing numerous authorities to support their stance.
In the meantime, when the PDP’s attorney, Alex Iziyon, was cross-examining the witness regarding the membership record of the LP presented to the commission before the election, Mr. Damis was unable to recognize Mr. Edeoga’s name since the subpoenaed witness was unable to locate the Isiuzo LGA on the list.
According to the Tribunal’s chairman, M. K. Akano, the decision on the respondents’ objections would be made concurrently with the verdict.
The case was postponed until July 12 so that the hearing could continue.
CREDIT: The Punch
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