Ayade, APC Tender 749 Exhibits, Seek To Upturn Election Of Sen. Jarigbe

Former Governor Ben Ayade and the All Progressives Congress have submitted 749 exhibits to overturn the election of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe in Cross River's ongoing National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal (EPT).

The court session in Calabar, which lasted until the late hours of Tuesday, was postponed until 10 a.m. on July 26 due to the inadequate illumination in the courtroom.

The petitioners, Ayade and APC, cross-examined four witnesses from Bekwarra Local Government Area, one of the LGAs in the state's northern senatorial district where they alleged election irregularities.

However, a minor courtroom drama ensued when the main attorney for Sen. Jarigbe, Mba Ukweni, SAN, objected to the right of two petitioner witnesses to identify evidence P39 brought before the court.

Ukweni argued that in order for a witness to identify or present a document from the witness stand, he or she must have mentioned or referred to it in a prior deposition.

"It is analogous to the norm of pleading; if you fail to plead a fact, you cannot introduce evidence on it.

"Therefore, if a witness does not refer to a document in his deposition, he cannot also identify the document from the witness box or have it tendered, not only in election cases but also in civil matters," he explained.

In vehement opposition to the counsel for the respondent, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, the lead counsel for the petitioners, stated that a witness could discuss the document in his deposition if he is a polling unit agent for his party.

"Our witnesses have mentioned voter registration, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and electors. The only thing they did not do in their deposition was mention voter registration.

"Our witnesses stated that they are from their respective polling units and can identify the document; however, the document had already been tendered as evidence, so they were not attempting to tender the documents but rather to identify them.

"A witness from a polling place can be compelled to examine the register of voters or any other document from that polling place," he explained.

In his ruling, Justice M. A. Sambo upheld the objection of counsel for the respondent, Jarigbe, and the PDP, which stated that a witness may only identify and remark on an issue contained in the deposition he tendered.

This decision did not sit well with the petitioners' attorney, who revealed that they would challenge it in their final written address.

Ayade is contesting the results of the 25 February election for the Cross River Northern Senatorial District, in which Sen. Jarigbe of the PDP was declared the victor.