The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, closed its defence in the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka, against the election of Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State.
INEC’s counsel, Uchenna Njoku, made this known to the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja shortly after he tendered more documents against the SDP’s petition.
Njoku told the three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, that INEC did not intend to call any witness, having assessed the case of the petitioners.
He said: “My lords, the 1st Respondent, having reviewed the state of pleadings in this petition, the evidence elicited from petitioners’ witnesses under cross-examination, and the documents so far tendered in evidence by the 1st Respondent, considers it reasonable not to further belabour the tribunal with the calling of witnesses.
“In the circumstances, the 1st Respondent, INEC, applies to close its case.” Justice Birnin-Kudu, who declared the Commission’s case closed, adjourned the matter until April 16 for Ododo (2nd Respondent) to open its defence.
It would be recalled that INEC conducted the Kogi governorship election on November 11, 2023. However, the SDP and its governorship candidate in the poll are challenging the declaration of Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the poll.
In the petition, INEC, Ododo and APC are listed as 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively. Earlier in the course of yesterday’s proceedings, Njoku told the tribunal that INEC brought the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices used for the election as ordered by the court on November 25, 2023.
Njoku also tendered three sets of documents, which included a letter, dated February 22, forwarding the BVAS, a document containing the summary of the BVAS devices and another document containing the BVAS’ identification numbers.
When Njoku applied to tender the documents, Ibrahim Sanni Mohammed, who appeared for Ododo, and Ayo Asala, who appeared for the APC, did not object to the admissibility of the exhibits. The lawyer to SDP and Ajaka, Pius Akubo, objected because it was only documents that were tendered without the actual exhibits.
Ruling, the tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Birnin-Kudu, admitted the documents as exhibits and marked them accordingly. The BVAS tendered were about seven local councils, including Okehi, Ajaokuta, Basa, Ogori-Magongo, Lokoja, Adavi and Okene.
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