The Taraba State Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Monday fixed October 7 for the adoption of written addresses by the parties.
Justice Musa Abubakar, the presiding Chairman, gave the date following the closure of defenses by Governor Darius Ishaku, the Taraba State Governor; the Peoples Democratic Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Abubakar said parties must take advantage of the 22 days to compile their final written addresses.
According to him, parties must also limit their final argument to 40 pages.
Abubakar said: “Anything more than 40 pages would be tantamount to a fresh petition, which would not be accepted.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the court admitted some documents tendered by counsel to the parties as exhibits.
Solo Akuma (SAN), Counsel to PDP, however, sought the leave of the court to present his only witness before the governor could close his case.
Akuma said: “We apply with profound respect to adopt all the polling units’ agent on behalf of Ishaku’s witness as that of PDP because they served at the polling units for Ishaku and PDP as well.”
Edingah Galumje, a Legal Adviser to PDP in Taraba State, who testified on behalf of PDP, told the tribunal that the party did sponsor Ishaku.
“We submitted the nomination form to INEC,” Galumje said.
Galumje said the party’s primaries in the state were deferred and shifted to Abuja on December 11 due to looming security in Taraba State.
He said the party sought permission from INEC to conduct the primaries on December 11, being the last day to hold primaries as directed by INEC.
He also said: “I did not look at the voters’ register, the incidence forms when I first made my deposition.”
On his part, Bala Aji, the Head of ICT/Voters Registry Department of INEC in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, tendered 74 pieces of smart card readers’ form from 12 local government areas of the state.
Aji told the tribunal that the card readers used for April 11 elections were different from the ones used for the re-run election in some local government areas.
Aji further said he was in custody of the card readers before the invitation to testify, adding: “I had access to the card readers when I gave my deposition.”
Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), Counsel to the governor, therefore announced to close his client’s defence after the last set of witnesses had testified in favour of Governor Ishaku.
NAN, however, recalls that the petitioner, Senator Aisha Alhassan of the All Progressives Congress, on September 3, while closing her case, called for the outright cancellation of the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the governorship elections inconclusive after cancelling the polls in Donga Local Government Area and some other areas of the state.
Alhassan had canvassed that the entire electoral process was marred with irregularities.
NAN.
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