Posted by A small amount of drama occurred on Monday at the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal meeting in Abuja when a few witnesses denied giving their depositions to the panel.
Four witnesses from the state’s Adavi Local Government Area testified on behalf of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before the three justices on the panel, which was chaired by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu.
When called as witnesses, the witnesses essentially recounted the identical story of what happened at each polling place on November 11, 2023, despite the fact that they were in separate polling places.
The four witnesses took their witness depositions under oath, much like the earlier ones.
On the other hand, the defense attorneys’ cross-examination produced statements that differed from those made in the witness depositions.
Upon viewing their deposition, they denied writing it and clarified that they were in fact random voters rather than polling agents.
In his deposition, one of the witnesses, Rufai Muhammad, claimed to be from Adavi Local Government and indicated there were no legitimately accredited voters for the particular election.
But under cross-examination, he claimed he had a legitimate voting certificate and had cast a ballot.
He denied writing the witness deposition, claiming he did not write it, when it was brought to his attention. The deposition was made under oath and stated there was no legitimately accredited voter for the election he witnessed.
Yakubu AbdulAzeez, another witness, stated that he observed the voting process on election day from a specific location and that’s when he noticed there was excessive voting.
Despite saying he watched the voting procedure, AbdulAzeez was unable to remain upright during the tribunal session.
The panel ordered that he be permitted a seat after he informed them that he had had a leg issue since 2008.
It became problematic when he claimed to have stood for hours at a location to watch an election that happened in November 2023.
Hamza Abdul Azeez claimed to have complained about excessive voting in a letter to the tribunal.
However, he said he was unaware of the precise number of votes each political party received in his voting place when questioned.
The witnesses stated that their attorneys prepared their depositions on their behalf, but they also acknowledged that they were unable to recall the attorneys’ names.
Due to a request for an adjournment by Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, the tribunal postponed the case to April 2.
Ibrahim Sani Muhammad spoke on behalf of Governor Usman Ododo, Chief Kanu Agabi represented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Abdul Wahab Muhammad represented the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the meeting.
Hamza Abdul Azeez, Said Muhammad, Yakubu Abdul Azeez, and Rufai Muhammad—all residents of Kogi’s Adavi Local Government Area—were among the witnesses who gave their testimony on Monday.
Recall that the SDP is contesting Gov. Ododo’s (APC) victory in the state’s November 11, 2023, governorship election.