Amosun & Isiaka
Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Abeokuta, on Tuesday, admitted in evidence electoral materials brought before it by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The materials were brought to the court on Monday by the Deputy Director/Head of Department, Electoral Operations, Samuel Ogunjemilua, through a writ of subpoena.
Electoral materials admitted in evidence included the Certified True Copies of election result sheets such as forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E; Voter Register Records and Incident Forms.
Counsel for the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in the April 11 election, Mr. Gboyega Isiaka, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), at the resumed hearing on Tuesday, applied to the court to tender the documents in evidence but was opposed by counsel for the first and second respondents(Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the All Progressives Congress).
Quoting paragraphs 18 (7) and 41 (2)(3) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), counsel for the first respondent, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), argued that documents could only be tendered from the bar if parties had consented to such documents at the pre-hearing stage.
Fagbemi also explained that there was nowhere in the report of the pre-hearing report dated July 13, where the parties agreed that the documents were to be tendered.
He further explained that a document, in this circumstance, must have been pleaded in the petition and also an evidence in relation to the document.
He maintained that the petition only pleaded for three wards of Alapoti, Ado I and Ado II all in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government.
Oyeniyi, while praying the court not to allow all the documents, said they were irrelevant since parties did not consent to the documents and as such, could only be tendered through the witness.
Oyeyipo, in his response, said the practice was that CTCs of documents were public documents that could be, and most times were tendered by counsel from the bar.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Henry Olusiyi, agreed with the counsel for the petitioners that the documents could be tendered from the bar.
The materials were brought to the court on Monday by the Deputy Director/Head of Department, Electoral Operations, Samuel Ogunjemilua, through a writ of subpoena.
Electoral materials admitted in evidence included the Certified True Copies of election result sheets such as forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E; Voter Register Records and Incident Forms.
Counsel for the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in the April 11 election, Mr. Gboyega Isiaka, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), at the resumed hearing on Tuesday, applied to the court to tender the documents in evidence but was opposed by counsel for the first and second respondents(Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the All Progressives Congress).
Quoting paragraphs 18 (7) and 41 (2)(3) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), counsel for the first respondent, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), argued that documents could only be tendered from the bar if parties had consented to such documents at the pre-hearing stage.
Fagbemi also explained that there was nowhere in the report of the pre-hearing report dated July 13, where the parties agreed that the documents were to be tendered.
He further explained that a document, in this circumstance, must have been pleaded in the petition and also an evidence in relation to the document.
He maintained that the petition only pleaded for three wards of Alapoti, Ado I and Ado II all in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government.
Fagbemi added, “That is the reason why we are objecting to the tendering of all the documents. Documents are to buttress what is on the ground before the court. There is no room for a wholesale dumping of evidence, each document must be tied with pleadings and evidence.
“And there is no room in relation to all the witnesses that have been called to allow the admissibility of the documents. The document cannot come through the bar because it was agreed to at the pre-hearing session and it should come in, it has to be tied to the petition.”Counsel for the APC, George Oyeniyi, agreed with Fagbemi, adding that no specific mention was made of four local governments of Obafemi-Owode, Ifo, Sagamu and Ewekoro in the petition.
Oyeniyi, while praying the court not to allow all the documents, said they were irrelevant since parties did not consent to the documents and as such, could only be tendered through the witness.
Oyeyipo, in his response, said the practice was that CTCs of documents were public documents that could be, and most times were tendered by counsel from the bar.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Henry Olusiyi, agreed with the counsel for the petitioners that the documents could be tendered from the bar.
He said, “The sole matter for determination is whether the CTC of result sheets, voter register and incident forms could be admissible in evidence through the bar.
“The documents are admissible in evidence and can be tendered through the bar. The sole issue for determination is hereby resolved in affirmative in favour of the petitioners.”
“The documents are admissible in evidence and can be tendered through the bar. The sole issue for determination is hereby resolved in affirmative in favour of the petitioners.”
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