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Atiku, PDP Line Up 400 Witnesses Against Buhari, APC, INEC
Former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his party, the PDP, on Monday disclosed that they would call a total of 400 witnesses to testify at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), lead counsel to Atiku, said as much as his clients had lined up 400 witnesses, they “intend to call as many witnesses as possible within the prescribed time” in order to prove their case of massive rigging and electoral fraud alleged perpetrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the aid of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
© REUTERS/Afolabi SotundeFile photo- Former Vice-President Atiku AbubakarUzoukwu also informed the tribunal that counsel representing the various parties in the case had also agreed that “we will tender and reserve objection till final addresses.
“What we have not agreed on yet is whether we will be given opportunity or isolate the preliminary objection from the main address.
“We are also not too sure on the length of time of cross-examination.”
Meanwhile, the panel said that the length of time for cross-examination “will be dependent on the circumstances and facts, particularly the number of witnesses parties to the case intended to call.
“But we shall set a template for cross-examination which will not be sacrosanct.
After the tribunal stood down for some time on the instance of Uzoukwu, the parties reconvened with how to resolve other issues that would arise during the substantive hearing of the petition.
Meantime, the Justice Mohammed Garba-led five-man tribunal, adjourned till Wednesday, July 3, to rule on the pre-hearing application brought by the PDP challenging the June 11 decision of the court, which saw the withdrawal of a motion by the APC.
The tribunal will also, Wednesday, rule on the suggestions of the parties on how to resolve other issues that would arise during the substantive hearing of the petition.
The petitioner is challenging the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC as the winner of the February 23, 2019 poll.
According to paragraph 16(3) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, they will have only 14 days to do this and tender all documents they need to prove their case.
Atiku, in his petition, claimed that he polled 18,356,732 votes while Buhari secured 16,741,430, citing INEC’s server.
However, the electoral commission said Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat the former vice president whom, the commission said, secured 11, 262,978