 on Monday prayed the presidential election tribunal to adjourn the hearing of defence till July 4 following the refusal of its witnesses to show up at the hearing.){kind=link}
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday prayed the presidential election tribunal to adjourn the hearing of defence till July 4 following the refusal of its witnesses to show up at the hearing.
After a week-long break, respondents in the suits contesting the results of the February 25 presidential election tribunal were expected to open their defences Monday.
INEC, which is the first respondent in the petition by the Labour Part (LP)y and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was scheduled to open its defence today.
The petitioners are challenging the emergence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 election.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud, told the court that he planned to call three witnesses within three days, but the one slated for the day’s hearing was unavailable due to some domestic issues.
“My lord, this week is for the defence, and we have three witnesses to present, and we need three days, but none of our witnesses is in court, and I’m not sure if they are coming because I’ve not spoken to them yet.
“That is our unfortunate situation today, and we would like to seek an adjournment until tomorrow,” he said.
Counsel of the Labour Party, Livy Uzouwku, did not object to INEC’s request.