Edo guber poll: Tribunal threatens lawyers with contempt charge

Edo guber poll: Tribunal threatens lawyers with contempt charge

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 12:04 am


Gov. Obaseki of Edo State

Justice Ahmed Badamasi,Chairman, Edo Election petition tribunal, on Monday threatened lawyers with contempt charge over unprofessional conduct during  cross examination of a defence witness, Edosa Ajayi.

Badamasi is the chairman of the three-man Edo election petition tribunal sitting in Benin.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, are challenging the declaration by INEC of  Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election.

The petitioners listed INEC, Obaseki and the APC as first, second and third respondents respectively.

Ize-Iyamu had since closed his case after calling 91 witnesses and tendered several pieces of evidence to prove his case of alleged irregularity in some polling units and polling wards in the 18 local government areas of the state.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, Mr Ferdinand Orbih’s, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the petitioner’s counsel, complained of alleged unprofessional conduct by lawyers for the defence team who were whispering answers to Ajayi.

“My Lords, if villagers, with all sense of responsibility, who do not know the etiquette of the court, whisper and make gesticulation can be forgiven.

“But, it is worrisome and cause for concern, when members of the bar are caught engaging in this type of unprofessional conduct. It does not speak well for us as lawyers,’’ he said.

The Tribunal chairman said, “It is in deed very wrong for members of the bar to be doing this. What impression are they giving the public knowing that press men are here?

“This is the last time there should be this kind of unprofessional conduct. There should be no echoing or whisper of answers in any form.

“Even if it is from a counsel or lawyer in the case, justice will be done as the offender will be charged with contempt,’’ the tribunal chairman warned.

Before the interruption, the witness, led in evidence by Obaseki’s counsel, Mr Abiodun Awonikoko, (SAN), claimed that as  an APC agent in the Sept. 28 governorship election, he and other agents had signed the polling unit result sheet form EC8A.

Confronted with exhibit PO 169(4), being the certified true copy (CTC) of the said polling unit result, form EC8A, and asked to say if he could see any signature? the witness became hesitant and followed with resounding echoes and whisperings from the defence counsel bench.

Ajayi later responded saying, “ i agree that the CTC is a copy of the original result with INEC.

“And i agree that the CTC is the same as the pink copy given to agents,’’.

But when asked if there was any signature in the copy, he replied “i can’t see any signature.’’

One of the witnesses, Ederaro Osahon, an applicant, who functioned as APC’s agent in Oredo, in his oral evidence claimed that accreditation and voting process was done simultaneously in his polling unit.

When asked if the figure of the actual accreditation in his unit could only be gotten when ticking to the left in the voter register were counted and added up, he responded, “ i do not know.

“I guess that is for INEC to answer,’’ he added.

When Orbih asked if 221 and 242 would add up to give 463, he responded “ i don’t know. I am not that good in calculation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while Obaseki had called 34 witnesses for his defence, eight witnesses including four subpoenaed witnesses on Monday testified before he tribunal went on three-hour recess.


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