…Hearing of defence adjourned to 9am, Thursday, August 3, 2023…
…We’ve now closed our case. It’s now for the respondents to begin their own defence when we come back on Wednesday, 2nd August – Counsel To Binani on Monday, July 24, 2023
It was the 9th sitting at the Adamawa state governorship election tribunal, sitting in Yola the state capital. It was however the first hearing with opening of defence by the Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The APC governorship candidate, Distinguished Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, a.k.a Binani, the amazing amazon, generally addressed as the Governor-In-Waiting has challenged the second declaration, by the INEC, of Rt Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, a.k.a Fresh Air as the winner of the 2023 governorship election in the state, after having been earlier duly declared by the INEC as having scored the highest votes, going by the genuine results she would insist to be referred to IREV.
Opening the case, the Counsel to the PDP governorship candidate would insist that the tribunal should dismiss the case owing to what they would refer to as lacking.
The Tribunal, having seen the legal merit in the suit filed, overruled the Counsel to PDP governorship candidate’s objection to quash the case among other objections duly objected.
Having tendered the documents as exhibits before the tribunal, the Counsel to Binani, on Monday, July 24, 2023, closed the case with “the third witness, considered as a star witness, whose appearance would also have to be debated with objection overruled, has presented a 171 page documents as evidence, pointing out the irregularities, it was a compendium, a compelling tour de force, analytic, intuitive and finally revealing…”
Responding to the media after the adjournment of hearing, Counsel to Binani as petitioner revealed that “we’ve now closed our case. It’s now for the respondents to begin their own defence when we come back on Wednesday, 2nd August”.
Opening the defence Wednesday, the witnesses to have been heard, would have been presented by the Counsel to the INEC, would not appear before the tribunal, according to the Counsel, because the one to have come from Abuja registered insecurity as the constraint while the witness to have appeared from Taraba state said the protest by the organised labour would not let him travel on Wednesday.
The Counsel to the INEC said they are agreed that the Wednesday sitting was part of the three days given to them to tender their exhibits and present their witnesses.
The defence Counsel has tendered a document considered as the result of the governorship election, which the Counsel to the petitioner objected, arguing that it should not in any way be counted as exhibits for defence, the reason for the objection would be presented in document form the petitioner’s Counsel said.
The hearing was adjourned to 9am, Thursday, August 3, 2023. The defence Counsel has two days to go.