Tribunal: Nnamani presents 400 witnesses today

ENUGU—Over 400 witnesses will today, take the box in the continued hearing of the petition brought before the National Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Enugu by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Change, PDC,for Enugu-East senatorial district, former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani.

Chimaroke Nnamani

Nnamani is challenging the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of Senator Gil Nnaji of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as winner for the Enugu-East senatorial district which had elicited widespread protests in Enugu metropolis.

It would be recalled that INEC lawyer, Mr. Benson Ibezim, had last Tuesday, stunned the tribunal when he rejected a certified true copy of the commission’s document, saying it could not be admitted in evidence for doubtful authentic- ity and competence of the INEC Legal Services Department to endorse the said document.

Ibezim, Counsel to INEC, third respondent in the petition, who was in the habit of agreeing to every submission by counsels to the first and second respondents, Senator Nnaji and the PDP, respectively, told the tribunal that he was “in the same boat” with the two respondents in objecting to the admission in evidence of a certified true copy of the card reader polling unit accreditation report, even though it was signed by the

Director of Legal Services of the electoral commission, which he was representing.

Counsel to the petitioner, Mr. O. Jolaawo, who had earlier tendered four documents for admission in evidence without objection by the respondents, had further sought to tender in evidence the card reader polling unit accreditation report generated by the Information and Communication Technology, ICT, Department of INEC for the Presidential/National Assembly elections and signed by the Director of Legal Services of INEC.

This was, however, met with the stiff objections of the lead counsel to Senator Nnaji, Mr. P.I.N. Ikwueto SAN, and that of the PDP, Mr. P.M.B. Onyia, saying it did not meet the requirements of the evidence act as the INEC Director of Legal Services, who signed the document was not competent to do so, not being an ICT expert.

In his ruling, the tribunal chairman, Justice Adewara agreed with the petitioner that the certified true copy of the report was accompanied by authentication certificate, dated 15th May 2015 and signed by Mrs. Nnenna A. Essien, Head of Section, Data Warehousing, ICT Department,

INEC Headquarters, Abuja, as required by Section 42 of the Evidence Act.

He held that unlike the case relied upon by the respondents in objecting to the admission of the report in evidence which was not backed with the authentication certificate, the petitioner complied with the requirements of Section 84 of the Evidence Act.