The lack of witnesses has caused a delay in the defense presented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in response to the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, contesting the results of the 2023 presidential election.
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja had adjourned on June 23 until Monday, July 3, for INEC, the first respondent in the petition, to begin presenting its defense regarding the presidential election held on February 25. INEC had intended to call three witnesses on Monday, July 3.
However, when the proceedings resumed on Monday morning, Abubakar Mahmoud, the lead counsel for INEC, requested an adjournment until the following day (Tuesday) due to the unavailability of one of its witnesses. He also informed the court that INEC would present its defense over the course of three days.
The request for an adjournment was not opposed by the counsels representing the petitioners, President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the APC, who are listed as the second to fourth respondents in the petition.
Consequently, the five-man panel of Justices, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned further proceedings in the petition until Tuesday, July 4, 2023. It should be noted that Obi and his party had concluded their case on Friday, June 28, challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Obi and LP had presented a total of 13 witnesses and submitted several documents to support their allegations that the presidential election was conducted in blatant violation of the Constitution, Electoral Act, and INEC’s guidelines.
After the proceedings, Livy Uzoukwu, the lead counsel for Obi, expressed his view during an interview with journalists, stating that INEC’s request for an adjournment indicates their lack of preparedness to defend the election.
“We are ready to come here tomorrow, but I have a hunch that given the contradictions and inconsistencies, I am sure that they are not ready to defend this case, I stand to be quoted wrong. But I hope that they will defend this matter so that the public can witness what happened. We have never had an election like the last one,” he said.
