The commencement of the defence by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) hit a roadblock this morning due to the absence of its first witness, leading to an adjournment of the proceedings.
INEC, the first respondent in the petition filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP), had been scheduled to present its defence today. However, when the case was called around 9:30 am, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), the lawyer representing INEC, informed the court that the intended witness for the day was unable to appear due to personal family matters.
Mahmoud, in light of the circumstances, sought an adjournment until Tuesday, requesting time for the witness to attend court. The lawyers representing the other parties involved in the case, namely Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) for Obi/LP, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettma, and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), did not raise any objections to Mahmoud’s application for an adjournment.
In response to the request, the Presiding Justice, Justice Haruna Tsammani, ruled in favor of the adjournment and scheduled the continuation of the proceedings for Tuesday at 9 am.
As the court adjourned, it made a promise to reconvene at 2 pm to address the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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Quoting Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), the lawyer for INEC, he said, “Due to some urgent family matters, our witness for today is unavailable. We kindly request an adjournment until Tuesday to allow the witness to appear before the court.”
Justice Haruna Tsammani, in ruling for the adjournment, stated, “Considering the circumstances and the unanimous agreement of the parties involved, this court grants the application for an adjournment. The case will be heard on Tuesday at 9 am.”
The proceedings were temporarily concluded, but the court assured that it would reconvene at 2 pm to address the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Stay tuned for further updates on the case.
source: thenation
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