Presidential election:Tribunal gives HDP nod to open trial against Buhari

Dismisses party’s application to amend list of witnesses

Respite came the way of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Albert Awuru at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday when the Justice Mohamnmed Garba-led tribunal closed the pre-hearing session in respect of the petition filed and ordered the petitioners to open their case on July 22.

Similarly, the five-man presidential election petition tribunal led by Justice Mohammed Garba has unanimously dismissed an application by the petitioners (HDP) to amend their list of witnesses and file additional statements on oath in their ongoing hearing of the party’s petition.

The application was brought by the presidential candidate of the party and first petitioner in the matter.

The petition, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress in the last presidential election, is premised on the grounds that the rescheduling of the poll from February 16, 2019 to February 23, 2019 was done “without any recognizable presence or existence and or compliance with prescribed statutory conditions to do so.”

The HDP is asking the court to nullify the 2019 Presidential elections on the grounds that the federal government’s decision to postpone the election was “unconstitutional”.

The respondents to the petition are the Independent National Electoral Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress.

The tribunal has therefore adjourned the case till July 22 after adopting the pre-hearing report which would guide the proceedings during the trial.

In the report read out at the directive of the court, the petitioners were given two days to prove their case.

Each of the three respondents was also given two days to present their defence.

The tribunal ruled that they shall have 10 minutes for examination, 15 minutes for cross-examination and five minutes for the re-examination of witnesses, respectively

The tribunal gave five minutes for the re-examination of witnesses.

“Documents to be tendered shall be tendered from the bar, and any objection shall be raised at the point of tendering and the reasons for the objection shall be reserved till final addresses,” Justice Garba added.

The tribunal also gave the respondents three days from the date of close of evidence to file their final addresses, and also gave the petitioners three days from the date of being served to file their own final address.

“Respondents shall each have two days to file their replies on points of law, if any,” Justice Garba added.

He also said the court under the provision of the Electoral Act, reserved the discretion to modify the report when necessary.


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