Tribunal withholds verdict in purported certificate forgery case involving House of Representatives member

  • Post category:Politics

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, located in Asaba, Delta State, has decided to hold off on delivering its verdict in the legal case involving the Warri federal constituency seat, which pits the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ekpoto-Ekpoto Emmanuel, the petitioner, has urged the tribunal to invalidate the declaration of Thomas Ereyitomi as the victor of the election, which was carried out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The parties involved in the case include the 1st respondent (INEC), 2nd respondent (PDP), and 3rd respondent (Thomas Ereyitomi). Emmanuel contends that Ereyitomi’s election was marred by irregularities and accuses him of falsifying his West African Examinations Council (WAEC) results.

Ekeme Ohwovoriole (SAN), who represents the 3rd respondent, has urged the tribunal to reject the petition due to its lack of merit. Robinson Ariyo, the counsel for the PDP, has echoed the arguments put forth by the counsel for the 3rd respondent in his final written address.

The opposing parties contended that the petition lacked competence and consistency in relevant details, and they called upon the tribunal to dismiss the petition.

Ohwovoriole contended that the petitioner failed to present copies of Forms EC8A (II) for comparison with the original copy. He further contended that the petitioner couldn’t substantiate the claim of over-voting, as the BVAS report from the inspection at each polling unit where the alleged misconduct happened didn’t align with the petitioner’s case.

In his final written address, Ariyo asserted that since the issuing institution of the certificate didn’t release a disclaimer, the case should be rejected.

Oghenero Okoro, the petitioner’s legal representative, argued that the petition wasn’t contradictory. He explained that Section 6611 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, aims to penalize integrity, and emphasized that if the 3rd respondent is to serve in the National Assembly, they must maintain an impeccable record.

Okoro stated that the petition didn’t assert that there was no election, but rather that a legally recognized election didn’t occur in Warri South Local Government. He urged the tribunal to “disregard all preliminary objections and establish that the 3rd respondent was unqualified for violating Section 6611(I) of the 1999 Constitution, thus declaring the petitioner as the winner.”.

But the three-man panel headed by Justice Catherine Ogunsola held that ”judgment is hereby reserved. Notices of the judgment day will be served on the parties involved.”

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