Anxiety as Tribunal delivers judgment on Cross River guber election today

On Tuesday, the Cross River Governorship Election Petition Tribunal will rule on the petition filed by Prof. Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Sen. Bassey Otu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This is according to a statement issued by the tribunal’s Secretary, Mr Akawu Bambu, on Sunday in Calabar. Suit No. EPT/CR/GOV/02/2023 was filed jointly by Onor and the PDP. Counsel to Onor and Otu,.J. Y. Musa, SAN, and Prof. Mike Ozekhone, SAN, both presented written addresses that were accepted by the three-member tribunal.

Musa stated in his final written address to the court that the evidence obtained during the respondents’ cross-examination strengthens their case and also confirms the dishonesty of the information offered by the second and third respondents (Governor Otu and Peter Odey).

Onor finished his case after calling a few witnesses, whilst Otu called ten. Following the approval of written addresses by both parties on Aug. 13, the tribunal chaired by Justice Oken Inneh reserved judgment.

Musa stated that the petitioners’ case is not one of forgery against any of the respondents (Otu and Odey), and thus all of the authorities they cited to the effect that they needed to call witnesses from institutions are non-sequitor; rather, the petitioners’ case is that the second and third respondents lied under oath. He insisted that the second and third respondents (Otu and Odey) bring evidence that they fabricated documents.

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They opened a Pandora’s box by claiming they did not lie under oath, allowing us to see the disparities.

“I, therefore, urge the tribunal to declare the votes of the second and third respondents wasted because they were not qualified to stand for the election and declare the petitioners winner of the elections,” he said.

Prof. Mike Ozekhone, SAN, lead counsel for the second and third respondents, urged the court to dismiss the petition “for being frivolous, unmeritorious, gold-digging, distracting, and constituting an abuse of the court process.”

He stated that the “withdrawal of grounds two and three by the petitioners sounded a death kernel to their own petition because it was an admission that the elections were validly held.”

K. O. Balogun, counsel for the first respondents (INEC), asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition and agreed with Ozekhome on the qualification of the second and third respondents

Ozekhome had asked the court to dismiss the petition because it was frivolous, unjustified, distracting, and an abuse of the legal system. He went on to say that the petitioners’ withdrawal of grounds two and three was a death knell for their own case because it was an admission that the elections were lawfully held.

“According to my own submission today, the truth is that, beginning on July 10, 2023, when they withdrew grounds two and three of the petition, which discussed discrepancies, non-accreditation, non-e-transmission through BVAS, through iRev, and all the other alleged malpractices.”

“That time when they withdrew those allegations which were funny and untrue allegations, their petition collapsed like a pack of cards,” he stated.

According to NAN, INEC declared Otu the winner of the race after he received 258,619 votes, defeating the PDP candidate who received 179,636 votes.

Anxiety as Tribunal delivers judgment on Cross River guber election today