Labour Party tenders electoral evidence from six states at PEPT to contest INEC’s declared results

Legal team of the Labour Party (LP) and its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi stormed the ongoing Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, armed with documents as evidence to prove its case against the elections results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the February 25 polls.

According to LP counsels led by Barrister Awa Kalu SAN, results from states won convincingly were not part of the documents tendered at the court, as only the states in the country, where the party insists it won or scored more votes than declared by INEC.

According to the Labour Party, it is set to present documents for a total of 18 states in the duration of the three weeks window for tendering evidence.

It was a rowdy session as the PEPT Presiding Judge, Justice Haruna Tsammani had initially directed the LP legal team to re-file its evidence according the agreed format adopted by the court, and subsequently took a 10 minutes break as the LP team reorganized its documents before presentation.

This development was misinterpreted among many reports which had claimed that court dismissed the LP team and its documents.

However, when the presentation resumed after the break, LP’s documents conducted by Mr. Emeka Okpoko SAN for the parry and Obi was concluded with objections raised by the INEC counsel who objected to all the documents tendered, even as these were certified true copies of documents its had issued to the LP as ordered by the court earlier.

The court had commenced sitting by 9am as LP/Obi counsels moved in a massive pile of evidence to the PEPT.

The LP Presidential candidate, Obi, his Vice, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, and the LP National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, as well as the Director General of the LP Campaign Organisation, Jide Osuntokun, were all in court.

While Obi stood in for himself, his legal team was led in by Awa Kalu SAN.

The LP team, tendered Forms EC8A containing election results from Benue, Rivers, Cross River, Niger, Osun and Ekiti states.

A major surprise was that LP accessed all original documents, some of which are already on the INEC’s IReV portal. Tendered documents were mainly certified electoral documents obtained from the electoral commission in the six states brought before the court in Thursday hearing.

Interestingly, INEC represented by Kemi Pinhero SAN which issued the documents and certified them as genuine, repeatedly raised objections to their admissibility by the court.

The INEC Forms EC8A results from polling units were subsequently admitted by the court as exhibits to be used to establish their alleged riggings and other malpractices during the February 25 polls.

At the sixth state to be tendered, the LP announced that it had exhausted its time allotted for the day, as it sought for an adjournment.

LP: It’s 1pm and time allotted for today is finished. May we pray to continue our presentation tomorrow?

Court: Can you finish with the EC8As today?

LP: We have exhausted all the documents we brought in today. We measured with the time to be used.

Court: Any opposition to adjournment?

All parties reply: No.

Court: Court is hereby adjourned till tomorrow. 2nd June, 2023 by 9am for continuation of hearing.

On the viral reports earlier Thursday claiming that the tribunal had stepped down LP/Obi presentation, the PEPT Justices had only asked the LP team for a list showing all the local government areas (LGAs) which Peter Obi and Labour Party’s lawyers are going to present at the hearing, but  which the later failed to produce, prompting the Justices to direct that the appropriate format be followed.

According to the Justices, this is because it would be easier for them especially as regards names and spellings of these LGAs.

10 minutes was given for the LP team to type it out and put it together to aid ease of documentation.

This followed a situation when the LP team referred to the Ilejemeje LGA in Ekiti State as ‘njemeje LGA,’ a confusion which the Justices wanted to avoid going forward as they directed that the listed names be typed out appropriately.

“A list of what you’re calling so that we can follow up with you and not writing it from our heads.

“The justice clearly said: “Give us a list that we can use to follow up as you’re calling it.”

A 10-minute break was then given to the LP team to get a list.

The hearing resumed subsequently, and was never stepped down, as claimed by most outlets reporting the proceedings.

President Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shettima (2nd and 3rd respondents) represented by Adebayo Adelodun SAN also opposed the admissibility of the electoral documents, just as the APC represented by Chief Afolabi Fashanu SAN said it would raise objections against the documents.

Breakdown of the tendered and admitted documents showed that Forms EC8A were tendered in 15 Local Government Areas of Rivers State, 23 in Benue, 18 in Cross River, 23 in Niger State, 20 in Osun and 16 in Ekiti Local Government Areas.

The court proceedings:

For Niger State, Form EC8as of 23 LGAs were admitted by the court and marked as Exh. PE1-PE23.

4^th (APC): We strongly oppose the admissibility of these documents and shall advance reasons in our final address stage.

For Ekiti state, the LP team tendered Form EC8As of 16 LGAs, including; Ekiti West, Ikole, Ijero, Ikere, Ishe-Oru, Oye, Ekiti East, Moba, Irebodu/Ifelodun, Ilejemeje, Ado-Ekiti, Ido/Osi, Emure, Efon, Gdonyin, Ekiti Southwest.

Court: Any opposition?

INEC: We oppose to the application and challenge the admissibility of those documents and we will advance our reasons.

2nd & 3^rd (Tinubu and Shettima): We oppose the admissibility of these documents and will give reasons in our final address.

4^th (APC): We oppose and object to the admissibility of the documents being sought to be tendered and shall state the reasons in our final address.

Court: Bundles of documents for 16 LGAs in Ekiti are hereby admitted as evidence and marked as Exhibit PG1-PG16.

For Benue State, LP team tendered documents for 23 LGAs; Gwer East, Ogbadibo, Kwande, Buruku,  Konshisha, Agatu, Makurdi, Ohimini, Ukum, Gboko, Oju, Katsina-Ala, Logo, Vandeikya, Otukpo, Tarka, Guma, Obi, Apa, Ushongo, Ado, Gwer West, Okpokwu.

For Rivers State, the LP team tendered evidence from 21 LGAs Starting with Andoni with 18 EC8A.

While, they also tendered documents for Osun state from 20 LGAs, including; Aiyedape, Ife South, Egbedore, Odo-oti, Irebodu, Obokun, Boluwaduro, Aiyedire, Iwo, Daiboribe, Ede South, Oriade, Ifedayo,

Lowunda, Orolu, Ife North, Irewole, Olaoluwa, Ishokwo, Ijobo.

Court: Any Oppositions?

INEC: We oppose and shall challenge in our written address and at the appropriate time, challenge their admissibility.

2nd & 3^rd (Tinubu and Shettima): Object to the admissibility and shall advance reasons in final address.

4^th (APC): We oppose the admissibility of these documents sought to be tendered for reasons which shall be canvassed during address stage.

The LP team also tendered documents for Cross River State in 18 LGAs, including; Obubura, Odukpani, Boki, Yala, Bekwara, Calabar Municipal, Obudu, Obanliku, Calabar South, Ikom, Abi, Yakurr, Biase, Ogoja, Bakassi, Etung, Akpabuyo, Akamkpa .

Court: Any Objections?

INEC: We object to the tendering of these documents for reasons we shall set out in our written address.

2nd & 3^rd (Tinubu and Shettima): We also oppose to the tendering and shall advance the reasons in our final written address

4^th (APC): We vehemently oppose to the admissibility of the documents and we will advance our reasons in our final written address.

Court: The registrar checked the Documents and there is no Opobo LGA. Just Opobo-Nkoro . Making the LGAs 15?

LP: Yes we can confirm that My Lords. 15 LGAs.

Court: The Form EC8As for the 15 local governments are hereby admitted and marked EXh. DB 1-15 respectively.