A beautiful wednesday morning, the judges are seated.
Labour Party Chairman is present today with the Labour Party BOT Chairman, Sen. Lar
Peter Obi is absent today.
Representation:
Dudu Manuga, National Women Leader Labour Party – LP
Chris Magida – Director Legal Services APC
Lead Counsels:
Labour Party – SAN LIVY UZOUKWU
INEC – SAN KEMI PINHERO
Tinubu and Shettima- SAN AKIN
OLUJIMI
APC: Respected elder senior SAN ANCESTOR AFOLABI FASHANU (The lawyer who asked LP lawyer to sit down and not talk when he’s talking because he’s his Senior)
So from today we will call him respected elder senior SAN Ancestor.
SAN Livy is now up on his feet
SAN Livy: My lord, with due respect, I will hand over to my learned colleague SAN Anuga to head todays proceedings.
SAN Anuga has now collected the mic and has started his my lord my lord my lord again like yesterday.
SAN Anuga has finished all my lord in the legal dictionary.
SAN Anuga: My lord, with utmost respect, my lord, please turn to the 8th schedule page 1 for the listings of IReVs
my lord. Thank you, my lord.
SAN Anuga has now tendered 21 LGA IReV for Benue State as certified by INEC
INEC has now objected to the documents they certified
Tinubu and Shettima’s lead counsel has now passed the mic to another lawyer to handle the proceedings
Guess what
He passed the mic to SAN Ogwu James Onoja
Do you guys remember him?
He’s the same lawyer that Apapa and Arabambi used to attack Labour Party and the LP Chairman.
The so-called lawyer for the so-called “factional” Labour Party.
As usual, he has objected to the documents presented by Labour Party lawyers.
APC lawyers also objected.
So all respondents again have objected.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the document as evidence before the court and tagged them as exhibits.
SAN Anuga has now tendered to bar 25 LGA of Niger State listed on page 13 of the 8th schedule for IReV Reports.
All respondents, including Apapa APC lawyer, have objected again to the documents tendered by Peter Obi and Labour Party lawyers.
Justice Tsammani has admitted the documents as evidence and tagged them as exhibits
SAN Anuga is not wasting anytime today
He’s just talking really fast and tendering to bar very quickly.
SAN Anuga: Most humbly, my lord, my lord, kindly turn to the 9th Schedule, my lord. My lord, we presented this schedule yesterday, my lord. My lord turned to page 1, which shows the IReV reports for Edo State, my lord, as certified and downloaded by the 1st respondent (INEC), which covers 17 LGA, my lord
Thank you, my lord.
SAN Anuga has used all my lords in the whole dictionary.
Again, all the respondents have objected, including INEC, that signed and stamped the documents tendered by the Labour Party.
Justice Tsammani is now admitting the documents as evidence before the court.
SAN Anuga: My lord, thank you, my lord. My lord kindly turned to Page 4 of the 9th Schedule. My lord, this tendered document relates to IReV reports for
Bauchi State as downloaded and certified by the 1st Respondent, my lord.
My lord, this is on page 4-5, my lord.
It is for 20 LGA, my lord. I seek to tender these documents, my lord. I’m most grateful, my lord.
All respondents again have objected to the documents tendered by Peter Obi and Labour Party lawyers.
Justice Tsammani is now talking to the secretary while they are looking through some documents.
I think they can’t find something. All the clerks are actively looking through a series of documents and envelopes.
They have found the document they were looking for.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted to evidence the Bauchi State IReV reports tendered.
SAN Anuga is now tendering IReV reports of Bayelsa listed on page 6 of the schedule presented by the petitioners for 8 LGA in Bayelsa State.
All respondents again objected to the document tendered.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted to evidence of the documents as tendered to bar.
SAN Anuga: My lord, thank you. My lord, please turn to Page 6 of the same 9th schedule.
My lord, it shows blurred CTCs documents.
Justice Tsammani: Are they IReVs
SAN Anuga: They are forms, some are EC40G, but there are blank sheets, and most are written in no election and just certified by the 1st respondent as no election.
There are IReV downloads, and INEC certified them as such
Justice Tsammani: Is it cancelled election
Is it the same as no election. So are we going to mark it as cancelled or no election
What exactly is it? Is it cancelled election or no election.
‘Wahala oh’
SAN Anuga: The reason is given as cancelled election and in some No election but in the form EC40Gs the reasons are stated as either cancelled or no election
Justice Tsammani: Are we going to mark it as cancelled election as stated in the document certified or as no election as indicated in your schedule.
SAN Anuga and the Labour Party lawyers are now murmuring with each other while looking through some documents.
SAN Anuga: So my lord, the item under number 2 comes under cancelled result or no result
I have now separated the blurred ones from the cancelled my lord
And then, for the no election, we have listed it differently from the ones certified as cancelled my lord.
Justice Tsammani: Yes that’s what you should have done so we would write the right thing.
Over to you, Pinhero
INEC: We object to the documents presented by the petitioners, my lord, and we would advance our reasons in the stage of address.
APC, Tinubu, and Shettima’s lawyers have also objected.
SAN Anuga is now tendering
Blurred CTCs as CERTIFIED by INEC
which can not be traced to any LGA
These documents were stamped and certified by INEC and given to Labour Party and Peter Obi lawyers after they paid to purchase documents from each state.
Some of the documents are totally blurred that you can refer to them as plain documents.
All respondents again have objected to these documents tendered.
Justice Tsammani has admitted these documents into evidence as exhibits
Justice Bello has a cheeky smile on his face right now.
SAN Anuga has now tendered IReV reports for Kaduna State as listed on page 8 up to page 9 of the 9th schedule.
21 LGA IReV reports for Kaduna State as certified by INEC are currently being tendered.
SAN Anuga has now given out the documents to the clerks in front of him.
All respondents again have objected to the document.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the documents as evidence before the court.
SAN Anuga: My lord Schedule 8 on page 9, there’s a second heading which relates to IReV forms that can not be linked to any LGA in Kaduna State.
We have listed them as Blurred IReV downloads
Hmm
Blurred documents again sent to Labour Party lawyers by INEC and INEC stamped them and signed.
Wow
Well, all the respondents have objected
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the documents as evidence.
SAN Anuga: My lord, we are now moving to Page 8 of this 9th schedule.
My lord, it is the second heading listed.
My lord, these are all wrong forms that can not be linked to any LGA in kaduna state.
These forms were certified by the 1st respondent, my lord.
All respondents have objected to this document
Justice Tsammani has now admitted to evidence of the documents tendered.
SAN Anuga is up on his feet again
SAN Anuga: My lord let’s see Page 9 of the 9th schedule, my lord.
Justice Tsammani: We will come back and see it. Let’s leave for just a quick break of 10 minutes.
The court is now going for a 10-minute break.
The judges are back
Justice Adah just whispered something to Justice Tsammani, and Justice Tsammani could not hold his laughter
Immediately, SAN Anuga is up in his feet
Hmm, this one Labour Party lawyers are being very quick today.
There is no time to waste.
Justice Tsammani: Yes
SAN Anuga: My lord, yes, we have 7 states schedules of certificate of compliance as certified by the 1st respondent, and we seek to tender 6 States excluding number 1.
‘The states were not called out nor was the state excluded called out, but the documents have been tendered to the judges”
All respondents have opposed and objected to the document.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted into evidence the documents as tendered.
SAN Anuga is quickly up on his feet again: My lord most himbly, let’s go to page 10 on the 9th schedule, my lord.
My lord, it is the schedule of BVAS and certificate of compliance for 28 states
as certified by the 1st respondent, my lord.
My lord, this is on pages 10 to 11
My lord, very humbly, we seek to tender these, my lord.
My lord 28 states, including FCT
‘SAN Anuga and “my lord”
All respondents again have objected to these documents
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the documents as evidence and tagged them as exhibits
SAN Anuga is now done tendering documents to the bar and has now passed the microphone back to SAN Livy
SAN Livy: My lord, I brought to the attention of the lead counsel of INEC that the office of the chairman of INEC has consistently refused to accept the subpoena of the release of documents despite the efforts of this court.
There is a huge failure of them to accept the subpoenas.
The lead counsel has graciously asked me to give him a copy of the subpoena and give it to any member of his team.
So I will get a copy and send it to him once I’m done with this proceeding.
INEC’s lawyer, SAN Pinhero, is now up on his feet.
Note that SAN Pinhero is leading INEC today as SAN AB Mahmoud is not here.
SAN Pinhero: My lord, it is now a pattern for the petitioner to use INEC as their reason when they want to seek adjournment.
It’s a pattern of the petitioners. A pattern. Some of the letters have been far back as March, April, and of recent May, and they keep on saying INEC is refusing to release documents to them.
Don’t use INEC as a whipping cord every time.
If they have nothing to do today, they should just say it and request for adjournment
We have no problem for their adjournment it means we would eat lunch early today.
It is very unfair and uncharitable that he is doing that
PDP also submitted subpoena, and the subpoenas have been received.
Stop it
SAN Livy is visibly angry at SAN Pinhero
SAN Pinhero: I am really, really shocked that my brother Silk said what he stood up to say.
I made it clear that they have refused service. I have told this court nunneries times.
Justice Tsammani: There is no need for all these.
This court can not make any other thing apart from the subpoena
SAN Livy: The language he used on me is unfair.
This is the second time it’s happening.
Justice Tsammani: He’s not the lead counsel. Don’t worry about him. We will handle it
SAN Livy: He’s continuously denigrating us, and it’s unfair
Justice Tsammani: You have been denigrating each other
SAN Livy: I have never spoken to anybody that way before my lord.
I have not been angry like this, my lord.
Justice Tsammani: We have been going smoothly, and we are here in respect of your matter. Don’t worry, we will handle it
SAN Livy: I have never sounded that way to any of my colleagues. Never.
He’s very disrespectful
Justice Tsammani: Don’t worry, Livy.
SAN Livy: INEC is avoiding us, and your lead counsel has told me he would help, but you are here denigrating us.
Justice Tsammani: Don’t worry, we are here. We are all seeing what is happening.
SAN Livy: As the court pleases my lord.
Justice Tsammani: This case is hereby adjourned to tomorrow, 15th June 2023.
You all should follow Onipekun. Thank God he’s around today. Let him buy you all lunch today.
But those coming back for the afternoon case, don’t eat pounded yam oh, don’t come and be sleeping in my courtroom.
‘This Justice Tsammani has wahala’
The case is hereby adjourned.
Learned silks, see you in court tomorrow.
Please, let’s be optimistic and prayerful.
Tinubu and Shettima’s: My lord, I just spoke with my colleague. The witness can go on, but we will not cross-examine him today but much later because we would not be ambushed
APC lawyer is now up
SAN Fagbemi: My lord, we were also served this witness disposition a few minutes before the court sat.
As it may, we align ourselves with the submission of Chief Olanipekun that is subject to your lords submission. The witness can continue, but we will cross-examine him later and not today.
SAN Ikpeazu: We can go on with the witness adoption today.
I am waiting for Mahmoud to confirm that we can go on with the adoption.
SAN Mahmoud: My lord, the witness can go on with the adoption, but the cross examination like my colleagues have said would not happen today.
SAN Ikpeazu: My lord, we can go on with the adoption while we take the cross examination in 1 to 2 hours. This witness just responded yesterday, and we came in immediately with him.
All the respondents have the best SANS at hand.
So I believe 1 to 2 hours would be okay for their best minds to cross examine this witness.
The judges are now discussing heavily with each other with stern faces.
Justice Tsammani: In the interest of everyone, we have agreed to have the witness statement today while cross examination would be tomorrow.
APC lawyers are heavily nodding their heads in confirmation.
INEC lawyers can be seen still murmuring with each other.
SAN Ikpeazu is now up to continue with the witness.
SAN Ikpeazu: Where do you work
Witness: I am a mathematician at Nnamdi Azikiwe University
LP: Do you recognise your statement
Witness: Yes, I do, with my signature and what I wrote.
LP: So, do you adopt this document with you as your statement.
Immediately Tinubu’s lawyer stands up and cuts in
Olanipekun: My lord, we object.
We object to this adoption of the witness statement. I was waiting for Mahmoud to rise, but we’ll, we object to this adoption.
INEC’s lawyer is now up
SAN Mahmoud: My lord, we also object to the adoption of this witness and would state our reasons at the stage of address.
APC: My lord, we also object to this adoption of the witness.
SAN Ikpeazu is now up with a huge smile on his face.
SAN Ikpeazu is now reading the Electoral Act that states a witness is mandated to present statements and also cross examination process.
LP: Do you adopt your evidence in chief?
Witness: Before the adoption, I want to make a clarification on page 5
Justice Tsammani: No, you can not make corrections. You have adopted
SAN Ikpeazu: My lord, the witness is allowed to point out the few areas that he wishes to correct just like we have done previously before he adopts.
Justice Tsammani: Okay
LP: So proceed witness
Witness: In bracket, C table 3 shows Rivers State document should be replaced with c table 2 and 3 of Benue state documents
Justice Adah: What of the E or F? Which one is supposed to be there
Witness: E has sub documents, and that entire segment is for Benue
Justice Tsammani: That’s an alteration
SAN Ikpeazu: No, my lord, it’s an amendment. It’s a typographical error
Justice Tsammani: The only way I can accept this is if he withdraws the statement while you can and correct what you need corrected
I can not use pen to alter my document
SAN Ikpeazu: My lord, we have done this before. He has not adopted the statement yet. He can make corrections when needed.
It’s just one line of tables 2 and 3. That’s all. It can be corrected.
We have made corrections before with statements in this courtroom.
INEC’s lawyer is now on his feet
SAN AB Mahmoud INEC: The only way we can accept is if he withdraws the statement.
He should withdraw and make all his corrections and come back another time.
SAN Ikpeazu is about to stand.
INEC: Learned colleague please I’m still on my feet.
This correction is too substantive, and we won’t allow it.
SAN Ikpeazu is now up
SAN Ikpeazu: Corrections to statements have been done here before, just before the adoption of statement
I don’t see the issue now.
INEC Mahmoud: My lord, we leave it to your discretion, but I have made my stance known.
Tinubu lawyer: My lord, we leave it to your discretion.
APC: My lord, we leave it to your discretion.
‘It’s obvious now that they are doing all these to waste the time of Labour Party’s lawyers, the shorter time Labour Party lawyers have, the better it is for the respondents, so they are willing to waste that time’
One INEC baby lawyer sitting beside me has just stood up to show AB Mahmoud something in his laptop as related to this witness.
It’s my fault, na. I allowed him to charge the laptop with the socket beside me.
He will come back and meet me here.
SAN Ikpeazu is now up with a huge smile
LP: We allowed Olanipekun to make corrections before, so there should be no problem.
Justice Tsammani: Let him make the corrections, and let’s proceed
SAN Ikpeazu: Thank you, my lord. You can see the whole page there is written Benue, so that statement beneath that shows Rivers is typographical, so just change it as Benue.
Justice Tsammani: Go ahead
SAN Ikpeazu: So witness, do you now adopt your witness statement
Witness: Yes, I do
‘Congratulations oh’
SAN Ikpeazu: In paragraph 4 on page 3, paragraph B(b), you mentioned 18,088 blurred Polling Unit results.
You did.
Witness: Yes, I did.
Justice Tsammani: Where is it
SAN Ikpeazu: Paragraph 9 i, ii and iii my lord. We would now tender all these documents.
We have gone extra miles of making copies for our learned friends on the other side so that we don’t need to apply again to make copies.
The clerks are now taking copies from Labour Party and Peter Obi’s lawyers to distribute to all respondents.
Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen an encyclopaedic dictionary
Put 10 of it on top of each other.
That is how the document for this witness is.
What kind of wickedness is this.
The judges are all laughing.
INEC lawyers are looking with surprise and shock.
Labour Party, what is this
At this point, the whole court is laughing.
When do you expect them to finish reading this document.
SAN Ikpeazu: My lord, we are kind enough to make them copies so they won’t stress themselves.
SAN Ikpeazu is not nice
What is this.
Justice Tsammani: I can see how nice you are. You are very nice with this loads of documents.
The whole courtroom is laughing.
INEC: My lord, we object to this loads of documents
Tinubu’s lawyers: My lord, when I saw these buckets this morning, I thought Ikpeazu’s daughter is doing wedding and he’s sharing asoebi for the wedding
We object to all these documents.
It can not even contain their buckets
SAN Ikpeazu: It’s your colleague that’s doing wedding na
APC lawyer SAN Fagbemi stood up with a no smiling face and ended all the jokes immediately: We object to this, and we would give our reasons in full at the final address.
‘What is this’
I wish I could take a picture of the documents so that you all can see it.
When would the respondents be done going through it.
Is that how much INEC stole the election. This evidence from the witness.
The judges are currently looking through the documents to understand.
I doubt they can understand it today oh
So the whole courtroom is just calm while the judges are looking through.
Justice Ugo: This is what Igbo men would see and shout Odiegwu
SAN Ikpeazu: My lord, that’s why we explained all the appendix in the report so that we can avoid any form of Odiegwu
Justice Tsammani: We would sort out this later, we will rise for 5 minutes and come back
The court is now going for a 5 minutes break.
The court is back.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the encyclopaedic evidence as evidence before the court and tagged them as exhibits.
While the court was out, I saw some lawyers from APC dragging one bucket of encyclopaedic evidence outside. I think it’s their own copy of the witness evidence.
They were so angry they didn’t even want to wait for me to make a video, but I still pursued them outside to make a short video.
SAN Ikpeazu: Thank you, my Lord, and thank you for the time to explain the documents.
Now witness, you made mention of 18,088 blurred result sheet from IREV.
The witness is now going through one of the documents.
Tinubu’s lawyer, SAN Olanipekun, cuts in with an angry face
Olanipekun: My lord objection. How long will this witness use to spend time in this court. They should let us know what kind of witness he is so that we can know how long he’s supposed to use. He has used over 2 hours now, and even expert witnesses are not supposed to use that much time.
We have spent the whole day on this one witness.
SAN Ikpeazu: My lord, we are not the ones wasting the time. And by the way, we are only laying more foundation so that you can justify the 48 hours you need to cross-examine him.
SAN Ikpeazu should be crowned SAN Violence in chief.
They are still bringing more evidence again. Labour Party is currently giving out all the respondents another set of documents.
All respondents have now objected to the evidence
Justice Tsammani: I am having a little problem here. I want to admit this evidence, but I don’t know how to explain it. Should I use bucketfull evidence or a truck load of evidence brought in buckets
At this point the whole courtroom is laughing.
SAN Ikpeazu: Anyone my lord wishes.
The bundles of blurred reports contained in four boxes have been admitted and tagged Exhibits PCE1-4.
SAN Ikpeazu: Witness you were given an engagement to carry data analysis on the total election by Labour Party.
Witness: Yes
SAN Ikpeazu: You we’re also subpoenaed here.
Witness: Yes
SAN Ikpeazu: Let me have the letters.
Witness brings the letters, and at this point, justice Tsammani cuts in
Justice Tsammani: We are aware of the subpeona, but we don’t know about a letter
SAN Ikpeazu: It’s a letter of engagement, my lord. The letter is dated 20th of February 2023, signed by the Labour Party to this statistician to carry out data analysis on the whole election for them.
‘So Labour Party engaged a statistician before election. Wow, I think they saw this coming.’
Justice Tsammani: Any objections
INEC: My lord, I have no objection to the subpoena
But as respect to the letter dated 20 Feb 2023, I object.
Tinubu’s Lawyer: My lord, we object to all the letters.
APC: We do not object to the letter, but we object to the subpeona
The Tinubu’s lawyers can be visibly seen asking the APC lawyer to object, and he’s visibly nodding his head, saying he won’t.
He is loudly saying, “I have my reasons.”
The 1st witness has now been stepped down, and his cross examination would be done tomorrow.
SAN Livy has now called another witness for the Labour Party.
SAN Livy: I will now call the witness from Arise TV
The witness is now out.
LP: Witness tell the court your name
Witness: My name is Lumi
I will omit the part of his address for security reasons.
LP: Where do you work
Lumi: I work at Arise News
Justice Tsammani: I hope we will be done with this witness before 1
LP: Yes, my lord
LP: Witness you were subpoenaed
Lumi: Yes
LP: Do you have it here
Lumi: Yes, I do
LP: My lord, I now tender this subpoena
All the respondents did not object to the tendering of the subpeona.
The witness has now presented his ID card to the court with no objection from the respondents.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the Arise TV ID card as evidence.
The witness from Arise TV at the PEPT today has now been asked to adopt his statement.
All respondents objected to the adoption of his statement.
LP: Do you adopt this statement as yours
Witness: Yes, I do
LP: You mentioned a flash drive in your paragraphs 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of your statement.
Witness: Yes, I did
LP: Do you have the flash drive
Witness: Yes, I do
The clerk has now collected the flash drive
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s as if we will watch film today in court.
INEC, APC, Tinubu, and Shettima’s lawyers have all objected to the flash drives rendered by the Arise TV witness.
Justice Tsammani has now admitted the flash drive into evidence and tagged as exhibits.
LP: My lord, we would seek for the video to be played in the open court. It’s just about 3 minutes.
It’s not long
Justice Tsammani: Any objection.
INEC: My lord, we have no objection, we want to watch the film.
Tinubu Lawyer: My lord, we have no objection. There’s already a standing precedence.
APC: No objection to the video been played, my lord.
The video is now being played at the PEPT
Below is the video currently being played.
Justice Tsammani: You have brought local stations to the court. When will you bring international ones like CNN and BBC
LP: My lord, Arise TV, is our local CNN
Justice Tsammani: We would continue tomorrow. Time is far spent.
LP: My lord, we still have one more video
Justice Tsammani: We will continue tomorrow. Let the witness come back tomorrow.
This case is hereby adjourned to tomorrow, 16th June 2023, by 9am
Let’s continue tomorrow
As the court pleases.
According to Media24flashnews Reporters Abuja, listened to discussions of some Lawyers in summary as they said there’s no way INEC and Tinubu will escape this Breakdown of Results in INEC iREV Portal:
- 840 results not accessible.
- 8,217 results blurred and unreadable.
- 527 results cancelled.
- 164,279 uploaded a week after election.
- 490 wrong PU results uploaded.
- 209 improper upload not on EC8A forms.
- 10,000 results not usable.
Pls Continue to share this to Nigerians
Leave a Reply