Tribunal Admits Result Tendered By APC Candidate – TheNigerialawyer

The Imo State governorship Election Petition Tribunal on
Thursday admitted in evidence copies of results from 366 polling
units allegedly excluded from the final results declared by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the March 9,
2019 governorship election, which was tendered by Deputy
Commissioner of Police in-charge of operations in Imo state during
the elections.

The Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress
(APC), Senator Hope Uzodinma, had in his petition alleged that the
said results were APC results excluded by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) during the declaration of the final
results of the election.

However, the Police, represented by the Deputy Commissioner of
Police, DCP Rabiu Huseini, who was in charge of operations during
the 9th March,2019 governorship election, tendered in evidence to
the Election Tribunal 366 results in Forms EC.8A out of the 388
polling unit results excluded from collation in the result declared
by INEC in respect of the Imo State Governorship.

It would be recalled that the INEC had declared the governorship
candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Emeka Ihedioha
winner of the election.

But dissatisfied with the results, Senator Uzodinma filed his
petition before the Imo State Governorship Election Petition
Tribunal on the 30th of March, 2019.

Read also: Kano Election Tribunal: PDP Chairman fails to give
evidence
One of the grounds of the petition was the unlawful exclusion of
results from 388 polling units spread across the 27 Local
Government Areas of Imo State where APC won with high margins.

Uzodinma had argued in his petition that if the results of the
388 polling units allegedly unlawfully excluded had been collated
he would have been declared the winner of the election. The APC
candidate closed his case after over one hundred polling agents of
the APC testified before the tribunal. However, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police who was subpoenaed to tender Police
counterpart copies of the results in Forms EC.8A in their
custody.

But there was legal firepower between counsels to the APC and
that of the INEC and PDP, as to whether the police should tender
the results in their custody for over four hours.

The INEC lawyers objected to it while that of the APC led by
Olusola Oke argued and relied on an earlier Court of Appeal
judgment in Lasun VS Awoyemi and Omidiran VS Etteh, to argue that
where a witness is summoned to court on subpoena, his evidence can
be taken orally in the tribunal.

Consequently, the Tribunal delivered its ruling and directed the
Police witness to testify and tender the available 366 police
counterpart copies of polling unit results. The ruling of the
tribunal elicited jubilation in the APC camp since the results
tendered collaborated with the earlier results the APC candidate,
Senator Uzodinma tendered before the Tribunal as the results of the
APC omitted by the INEC.

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