The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has announced its decision to reject 10 out of the 13 witnesses presented by the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Justice Haruna Tsammani, presiding over the case, made this declaration during the judgment delivery.
Justice Tsammani clarified that Peter Obi had called 13 witnesses, identified as PW1 to PW13, but only three of them had their witness statements on oath filed along with the petition. The remaining 10 witnesses had been subpoenaed, and their witness statements on oath were only submitted after the commencement of the hearings.
The Justice emphasized that, according to the Nigerian constitution’s Section 285, Section 137(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and other relevant provisions, all witness statements on oath must accompany the initial petition. He also cited a Supreme Court precedent, stating that once the 21-day window for filing an election petition has closed, the petition’s content cannot be amended. This means no additional statements on oath can be added after this deadline, as it would deny the respondents the opportunity to respond.
Furthermore, Justice Tsammani noted that the petitioners were well aware of the legal requirements regarding witness statements on oath but proceeded to present 10 witnesses without submitting their statements on oath at the outset of the petition. Additional details will be provided later.
