The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal said it rejected 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, who took over to deliver judgment on the substantive petition filed by Obi and LP, said this on Wednesday.
Tsammani said Obi called 13 witnesses, who testified as PW1 to PW13, noting that of the 13 witnesses, only three witnesses whose statements are on oath, were filed along with the petition.
The remaining 10 witnesses, the Justice said, were subpoenaed and their witness statements on oath were only filed after the hearing started.
According to Tsammani, every witness testimony taken under oath must be submitted with the petition in accordance with section 285 of the Nigerian constitution, section 137(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and other requirements.
The Supreme Court, once the 21-day window for filing an election petition expires, the petition’s content cannot be modified.
The Justice also stated that no additional statement on oath can be filed after the prescribed window has closed because the respondents will not have the opportunity to respond.
Tsammani said the petitioners were aware of the legal provision relating to the filing of witness statements on oath, yet went ahead to present 10 witnesses without their witness statements on oath earlier filed with the petition.
