After series of objections from the four Respondents in the case of Obi vs. Tinubu ongoing at the Abuja Appeal Court venue of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-man panel ordered for the witnesses to adopt their depositions and be led in evidence today then reappears tomorrow for cross-examinations.
The Tribunal arrived at this obviously cumbersome and time-wasting arrangement because the Respondents insisted that they were only served statements of the witnesses this morning in court and needed to study them properly and prepare for cross-examination, especially when one was adjudged a star witness.
The Respondents had every reason to worry. PW4 is a professor of mathematics and part of his being in court is to breathe life into 18,088 copies of blurred IReV documents brought in court in four different boxes. And anyone can accurately guess why it is a professor of mathematics identifying those very documents that were blurred (unreadable) yet INEC went ahead to declare somebody ‘winner’. And the Respondents should have worried more when Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, leading the witness in evidence, described PW4’s testimony as IREV SCORES INVESTIGATION, which reports were tendered and the witness endorsed them before the court as his.
After identifying the documents in his deposition, the court marked them as exhibits accordingly and the professor stepped down while he will reappear tomorrow for the red-eyed objecting defendants to cross-examine him. Don’t miss being in court tomorrow.
Next stepped in PIN Ikwueto SAN for the Petitioners to present another witness. He is Lumie Idevbie, works for Arise News Television and was in the witness box via subpoena.
He was sworn on oath, entered as PW5 and after adopting his deposition, another series of ritual objections followed when he indicated a flash drive to be played in court. As the reasons for objections were deferred till presentation of final addresses, the panel ordered for the flash drive to be slotted in for playback in evidence and marked it accordingly.
The screen showed Prof Mahmood Yakubu at Chatham House re-emphasizing on the deployment of BVAS and transmission to IReV in real time for the February 25 elections.
Done, the PW5 stepped down to equally reappear tomorrow for cross-examinations.
The court adjourned at this juncture to 9.00 am tomorrow, June 16.
It is worthy to note that the Petitioners are seemingly done with tendering of documents from the bar and now in the process of presenting witnesses. The Respondents are now deep in the tactics of slowing down and wasting time of court with incessant objections. But what will be will be for justice must prevail.
(POEM)
