July 03, (THEWILL) – The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), was forced into an abrupt adjournment on Monday, following the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to produce its witnesses before the court to defend the petition filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP), against the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Recall that on July 23, Obi’s legal team and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), closed their presentation of evidence against INEC’s declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The PEPC had adjourned sitting to Monday, July 3, for INEC to begin defence of the conduct of the 2023 presidential poll.
But at its resumed sitting on Monday, the legal team of INEC, led by A.B. Mahmoud SAN, asked the court for an adjournment till Tuesday, July 4, saying its three witnesses, scheduled to be called, had domestic issues which prevented their appearance in court.
Lawyers representing Obi, Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), did not raise objection for adjournment.
Subsequently, the five-man panel of the court, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned the case till Tuesday.
Speaking with newsmen after the adjournment, Obi’s legal team, led by Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), accused INEC of not being ready to defend the 2023 presidential election.
He maintained there are contradictions and inconsistencies associated with the poll.
“I am sure that they are not ready to defend this case. I stand to be proved wrong, but I wish they defend this matter so that the public will come to see more things. I continue to say that we have never had an election like this last one”, he said.
