Yakubu Busari,Jos
The National, State Assembly Election Tribunal sitting over the Plateau South bye Election petitions of Hon George Edwards Daika, People Democratic Party, PDP, challenging Independent National Electoral Commission, the election of Prof Nora Daduut of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at the west of mines Jos has resumed.
The Chairman of the Tribunal, His Lordship, Justice D. H Khobo has reeled out the guidelines for the daily proceedings with inaugural sitting dated 15-02-2021 that commence with paragraph 18 subsection 9 which expired on the 19-02-2021 for parties to file all their processes.
However, the parties adopted from EU P009 under section 285 subsection 8 of the 1999 constitution amended were all pleading shall be tender from the Bar.
According to the Chairman of the Tribunal, His Lordship, Justice D. H Khobo, the number of witnesses petitioners was given 14 days to conclude with 10 minutes for witness in chief and 5 minutes for cross-examining.
The Chairman of the Tribunal, His Lordship, Justice D. H Khobo explained that shall be sitting from Monday to Friday to collapse by 5 pm with four issues for determination by the PDP petitioners’.
The which was reserved until for judgment on the pretrial session has resumed at the National and States Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting at the High Court of Justice, West of Mines, Jos, Monday 01 March 2021 after one-week adjournment.
However, Rt. Hon. George Edwards Daika, the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Plateau Southern Senatorial Bye-Election held on December 05, 2020, is challenging the declaration of Prof. Nora Daduut of the APC by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the said election.
Proceedings commenced yesterday with the reading of the Pre-Hearing Report and directives on proceedings and conduct at the Tribunal during the hearing of the main petition
The Tribunal was about to commenced hearing of the main petition when S. Oyawale Esq called the attention of the Tribunal to a notice of change of Counsel filed by the Petitioners on February 27, 2021. He told the Tribunal that the said notice had been duly served on all parties in the matter and urged the Tribunal to adopt it and grant the Petitioners leave to change their Counsel.
Counsel for the Respondents (Ibrahim K. Bawa, SAN, Pius A. Akubo SAN, and Garba S. Paul) all confirmed service with the notice and added that it was the right of the Petitioners to chose who to represent them in the matter as Counsel and would, therefore, not object to the application
Consequently, the Tribunal granted the Petitioners leave to change their Counsel from Dr. Michael Attah to S. Oyawale.
Immediately after that, Oyawale moved an oral application craving the indulgence of the Tribunal for a one-week adjournment for the hearing of the petition in view of the fact that he just took over the case and the need to do justice in the prosecution of the petition on behalf of the Petitioners.
Again, there was no objection from Counsel for the Respondents except that they expressed dismay on the constrained the adjournment would have on their schedules next week.
In its ruling, the Tribunal considered Oyawale’s request but emphasized that election petitions are sui generic and time-bound stressing that all hands must be on deck to ensure the disposition of the petition within the time stipulated by law, (which is 180 days) and granted the application for adjournment in the interest of Justice.
The matter was, therefore, adjourned until March 08, 2021, for a hearing of the main petition.
