By Abasi Ita,Calabar
Leading counsel to Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe in the Senatorial elections petition tribunal Mba Ukweni, SAN, has asserted that the case instituted by former governor, Senator Ben Ayade against his client, over the Cross River North Senatorial election does not require a strong wind to crumble.
Mba Ukweni, SAN, stated this while presenting his final address to the tribunal for adoption during today’s sitting presided over by Justice M. A. Sambo.
During his adumbration, he told the tribunal that the grounds of the petition and the relief sought were contradictory and therefore dead on arrival.
Mba posited that “Ben Ayade cannot be said to have won the elections and at the same time is seeking for its nullification on the ground that there was no election.”
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria emphasized that “Seeking to be returned winner of the election and at the same time saying the election is null and void is an inconsistency that is bizarre and strange.”
The lead counsel further informed the tribunal that, “The petitioners called 34 witnesses and complained of results in 420 poling units, even if the respondent calls no witness, the case of the petitioners fails on its own and requires no opposition to fail.”
He stressed that the evidence tendered by the witnesses contradicted their written statement on oath and therefore cannot stand.
In his words, “The written statement on oath of the witnesses contained complaints of corrupt practices, violence, vote buying, inducement of voters and that these are serious criminal allegations and there is no single report from any security agency before the court”.
In his presentation, counsel to INEC, Habib Lawal asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition in its entirety for lack of substance and merits.
Habid contended that “Before an election is invalidated, it must be based on substantial non -compliance with extant electoral provisions.”
The INEC legal counsel said, “In this case, there is glaring evidence that there are 874 polling units in Cross River North Senatorial District, and the petitioner’s dispute results in 367 of them and called only 36 polling units agents which is of terrible insignificance.”
He submitted that the commission did not withhold the BIVAS machines and never in the pleadings of the petitioners’ did they list the BIVAS machines as one of the evidence to be relied upon.
On his part, counsel to the PDP, Ruben Egwuaba informed the court that all the witnesses called by the petitioners tendered the presidential election results and not the Senatorial election results and this makes their case Sui Generis.
He opined that a party cannot plead a document and then during trial bring another document.
Egwuaba urged the court to dismiss the petition on all grounds that the petition was predicated on substantial costs.
Counsel to the petitioners, Professor Mike Ozekhome SAN, on his part prayed the tribunal to uphold their petition and also tongue lash INEC for committing serial acts of illegalities and seeking to benefit from its blunders.
He said the same INEC that gave them form EC8A is the same party arguing it should have been EC81 and that they used presidential instead of Senatorial form.
The SAN said the commission should be tongue-lashed and whipped with judicial koboko as they are the ones who provided form EC8A.
The tribunal after listening to the final arguments from both parties adjourned the case for judgment and said the date would be communicated to the parties.