Tribunal: Ganduje opens defense, presents witness with fake voters’ card

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress,
APC, has opened his own defense with documentary evidence and oral
witnesses At the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, just
as the defendant presented a witness whose voter’s card was
discovered to be reflecting a different name.

Recall that the tribunal is hearing a petition filed by the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Abba Yusuf,
challenging Mr Ganduje’s victory at the March 2019 governorship
election in the state.

During the proceeding, Mr Ganduje lead counsel, Ofiong Ofiong,
SAN, tendered documentary evidences of election result sheets (form
EC8A) from 28 local government areas where supplementary election
took place.

Other documents include certified true copies of form EC40G and
copies of Election Day reports from the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC.

The respondent’s legal team also presented three oral witnesses
from the controversial Gawa Ward of Nasarawa local government area
of the state.

The first witness, Abubakar Suleiman of Kasuwar Murtala, Gama D,
Nassarawa local government alleged that during the first election
of March 9, supporters of the PDP in his polling unit submitted a
list of 20 people to INEC officials insisting that they must vote
before any other person.

However, while answering questions during cross-examination, Mr
Sulaiman confirmed that the March 9 election result was signed by
an unknown person called Auwalu on behalf on his party.

According to him, in the case of March 23 supplementary
election, there were two party agents representing APC and that the
other agent, Mansur Muktar-Adam, signed the result.

Meanwhile, there was a mild drama in the courtroom when Mr
Suleiman was asked to present his voter’s card which was discovered
to be reflecting a different name: Sadiq Sadiq.

The situation caused the PDP’s counsel Eyitayo Fatogun and that
of Mr Ganduje, MN Duru, to engage one another in a heated argument
over the discrepancy in the name of the witness and his means of
identification.

Moving forward, however, the Second witness presented before the
tribunal was Isa Waziri Bawa of Gama Tudu quarters, still in
Nassarawa local government area of the state..

Mr Bawa, in his witness deposition of oath written at the
tribunal registry on the May 17, 2019, said unlike other voters who
showed up to cast their votes at Gama Tudu Primary School, the
security men on election duty asked him to show his permanent
voter’s card before gaining access to the polling station by to
ensure safety of the voters in the area.

However, while being cross-examined by PDP’s counsel Fatogun,
the witness disowned the claim contained in the second paragraph of
his deposition saying it might be a typing error.

The witness further revealed that he stayed at the polling
station until the results were announced, showing APC leading PDP.
He, however, said that he was not sure if copies of the result
sheet were posted for the general public to see.

Yahaya Usman of Layin Maigado, also from Gama ward of Nasarawa
local government, the third witness, though without any means of
identification, was allowed to testify before the tribunal.

He alleged that some under-aged people wearing red caps,
believed to be members of the PDP and numbering about 20, stormed
his polling station during the first election with voters’
cards.

However, the witness, during cross-examination by the
petitioner’s counsel, failed to prove that the said people were
under-aged, as well as whether wearing a red cap, belt, T-shirt,
shoe or wristwatch reflects someone’s political affiliation.

After presenting three oral witnesses, one of the second
respondent’s counsel, Aliyu Umar, SAN, asked for adjournment of the
proceeding till Friday August 23, 2019.

The request was, therefore, granted by the chairman of the
Tribunal, Justice Halima Shamaki Muhammad without any objection
from all parties involved in the case.

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