PLATEAU: AMB. GOTOM & PDP vs SEN. DIKET & APC: PETITIONERS INVITE 2 MORE WITNESSES. HEARING FURTHER ADJOURNED

By: Valentine Adese (JP),

The hearing of the Petition filed by Amb. G. Y. Gotom and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the victory of Sen. Diket Plang and the All Progressives Congress (APC), over the Plateau Central Senatorial District election has further been adjourned to the 25^th/26^th/27^th of September, 2023, for continuation of hearing, after two more witnesses were invited by the Petitioners in support of their Petition today.

The two witnesses, Mr. Useni Audu and Hussaini Ali, adopted their statements made on Oath on the 5^th of May, 2023, before the Tribunal, after making some corrections, which were objected to by Counsels to the Respondents.

After Examination-in-Chief, led by Benson Igbanoi, Counsel to the Petitioners, during Cross Examination by Counsels to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Respondents, Mr. Useni and Mr. Hussaini told the National/State Houses of Assembly Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital that, they made verbally complaints of the over voting in their Polling Units with code 001 and 083 in Kanam Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, yet, the results of the PUs were not cancelled by their respective Presiding Officers.

Mr. Useni said, “I did not sign the result because of the problem of over voting and none of the other agents in the polling unit signed too.

“I served as an agent of PDP in my Polling Unit (PU). I do not have anything to identify myself here because, I lost my tag because of the destruction that took place. I however, did not swear to an Affidavit of lost.

“On the part of Hussaini, he told the court that, there was a connivance between the 1^st and 2^nd Respondent in favour of the 3^rd Respondent during the election and collation”.

In all, both Useni and Hussani were unable to link the allegations they raised of disruption and destruction in their statement to paragraph 15 of the Petition in the open court as they claimed.

Before the adjournment, the Counsel to the Petitioners, Benson (Esq), who was standing in brief for Chief, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), told the Tribunal that, he is forced to apply for adjournment because their efforts to reach out to other 4 witnesses failed. He said the Petitioners planned to fill 6 witnesses, but only 2 came.

Secondly, that he is applying for the adjournment to give INEC time to produce other documents the Petitioners are heavily relying upon and had requested for via a subpoena.

Adding that, out of the 7 documents the Petitioners requested for, only 2 have been produced by INEC.

Responding, Counsel to INEC, Mammud Adeshina (SAN) promised to put in more efforts by reaching out to his client (INEC) to produce.

You would recall that REALITY had reported that, the Petition filed by Amb. G. Y. Gotom and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the victory of Sen. Diket Plang and the All Progressives Congress (APC), over the Plateau Central Senatorial District election has entered full hearing with 3 witnesses already called by the Petitioners.

The witnesses, Prof. Daniel Davou Debi, Mr. Takbal Nunfa and Mr. Bawa Bashir, all adopted their statements made on Oath on the 5^th of May, 2023, after making some corrections, which were objected to by Counsels to the Respondents.