Breaking: Presidential Tribunal rejects testimonies of all Subpoenaed witness

CHIGOZIE IKPO, Abuja

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has rejected the testimonies of all witnesses who appeared before it on a Subpoena to testify in the petitions challenging the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the February 25 elections.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, in a rulling on behalf of the Five-member panel, struck out the statements by the witnesses as they were filed out of time.

The court held that all witnesses are the same, whether expert or ordinary and their statements ought to have been filed alongside the petition within 21 days after the election, as stipulated by law.

Justice Tsammani held that witnesses on Subpoena are not witnesses of the court, but that of the petitioners and the law applies to all of them.

He ruled that Obi’s request for an extension of time to call 10 additional witnesses, not originally part of the Petition, was a “surreptitious” attempt to amend the Petition beyond the legally allowed 21-day timeframe.

The court therefore held that the amendment was impermissible and consequently dismissed the application.

In addition, the court expunged all testimonies and documents tendered by the Subpoenaed witnesses from her records, in accordance with the legal provision outlined in Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act 2011.

The development meant that the candidate of the Labour Party, who called in 13 witnesses, is left with three as 10 of his witnesses appeared in court based on a Subpoena, with their witness statements filed out of time.

The same rulling also applied in the petition filed by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the consolidated petition.

Details later…

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