Edo Guber Tribunal: Parties to present 290 witnesses

THE election petition tribunal sitting in Benin City disclosed today that, all petitioners and respondents including Asue Ighodalo, The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governor Monday Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will be calling a total of 290 witnesses during the hearing of their petition.

The PDP, Asue Ighodalo and other his parties are challenging the declaration of Monday Okpebholo and APC as winner of the election by INEC.

The chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Wilfred Ikpochi gave the details during the presentation of the pre-hearing reports and briefing to parties.

He disclosed that the 290 witnesses were proposed by the parties in their harmonized proposal for the pre-hearing conference.

The court explained that the different petitioners have 21 days to call their witnesses while the respondents will be given 10 days to call their witnesses.

According to the Chairman, the parties will only be allowed to call witnesses whose statements on oath have been frontloaded and witnesses can be subpoenaed if necessary.

He added that, “All pleading documents shall be rendered and admitted by the tribunal while objections thereto shall be filled separately during final addresses. Objections to such documents during trial shall be noted and rulings reserved appropriately.”

Justice Kpochi stressed that all frivolous and unnecessary applications for adjournments will not be granted by the tribunal as election petitions are time-bound. Stressing further that all written address filed by counsel should not be more than 40 pages and should be of double spacing format with 14 font size, while calling on all counsel to develop the skill of good brief writing in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.

The report also revealed that there will be no consolidation of the petition with any other petition since there was no application in respect thereof and “there shall be no amendment of amendment as none is required.”

It added also that: “There shall be no further particulars or admissions save the application by the petitioners for interrogatories directed to the INEC, Monday Okpebholo as first and second respondents requesting for particulars articulated in the copies of the proposed interrogatories that have been filed along with the application in motion No-EPT/ED/GOV/02/M10/2024 filed on December 6, 2024, that has been granted.”

The tribunal will sit from day to day from 10am except on Sundays and other public holidays gazetted by law. However, the sitting period is subject to reviews as the “exigencies of the workload permit.”

The tribunal chairman adjourned to January 13, 2025, for hearing.