Politics
PEPT: Court Admits Video Clips As Evidence In Peter Obi’s Petition
The Presidential Election Petition Court has accepted two video clips presented by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as evidence in their petition against the conduct and results of the presidential election held on February 25.
During the hearing on Friday evening, the petitioners’ lawyer, Jubril Okutekpa, SAN, informed the court that they had issued a subpoena to Channels Television to produce the recordings found on two flash drives.
During the proceedings, Okutekpa revealed that two separate subpoenas, dated May 30 and June 6, had been served on Channels Television stating that a representative from the TV station had been sent to present the requested evidence.
The five-member panel, headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani, accepted the subpoenas as evidence and designated them as Exhibits PBH-1 and PBH-2.
One of the flash drives contains video clips of an interview featuring the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmoud Yakubu, prior to the general elections assuring that the election results would be transmitted electronically in real-time.
The second flash drive consists of a press conference delivered by Festus Okoye, a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), where he reaffirmed the commission’s dedication to electronically transmitting the election results.
To present the video clips’ content in the courtroom, Lucky Obese-Alawode, a senior reporter and editor from Channels Television, was called to the witness box.
However, the respondents in the petition strongly opposed the petitioners’ action.
Akin Olujinmi, SAN, the counsel representing President Bola Tinubu, raised concerns about the competence of the witness, stating that his statement had not been filed alongside the initial petition.
Referring to Paragraphs 4 (5) and (6) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022, Tinubu’s lawyer argued that the law clearly stipulates that a petition must be filed within 21 days following the declaration of the election result.
He asserted that the petitioners should have included all the necessary documents and a list of witnesses supporting their case when filing the petition.
Tinubu lawyer said “A petition which fails to comply shall not be accepted, that is what the law says. My lords, it was after the proceeding started today that the statement of this witness was served on us.
“This is over three months after the declaration of the result of the election was made. This witness was not listed by the petitioners, and his statement was not attached to the petition. To that extent, he is not a competent witness who can testify before this court”
He further argued that the petitioners were well aware of their intention to rely on the aforementioned video recordings when they initially filed the petition, yet failed to include them in the list of their documents.
Supporting Olujinmi’s objection, Kemi Pinhero, SAN, the lawyer representing INEC, expressed agreement that Obi and the Labour Party should have listed the proposed evidence in their petition.
However, the petitioners’ counsel, Okutekpa, SAN, argued that the witness was indeed competent to testify as the subpoena served on Channels Television was a court order that he had no control over.
Despite the objections raised, the panel decided to admit the two flash drives as evidence and designated them as Exhibits PBH-3 and PBH-4.
Subsequently, when the petitioners’ counsel requested for the video clips from the flash drives to be played in the courtroom, the respondents expressed their disagreement, with the exception of the electoral commission, which remained indifferent.
Olujimi reiterated that his client had not been provided with a copy of the flash drive.
He further argued that playing the video clips without his clients being aware of their content could potentially deprive them of the right to a fair hearing.
He said, “This case is not hide and seek. We are entitled to be served with a copy so that we can know the content and be able to prepare. Until we are served, we will oppose allowing it to be played.
Solomon Umoh, SAN, the counsel representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed his view that playing the content of the flash drives without prior service on the respondents would be an ambush on their part.
In his ruling, Justice Tsammani, the chairman of the five-member panel, stated that the respondents’ objection was not based on prejudice against playing the video clips, but rather on the lack of prior service.
However, due to time constraints, Justice Tsammani adjourned the proceedings to Saturday afternoon, June 10, to allow for the video clips to be played in the courtroom.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 election, has hit back at his former running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, insisting that he has the experience and capacity to improve Nigeria.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said his record in the state demonstrated what he could achieve at the national level if elected president.
Baba-Ahmed, who was Obi’s running mate on the Labour Party ticket in the 2023 presidential election, had recently said that none of the politicians challenging President Bola Tinubu in 2027, including Obi, could improve the country.
SEE MORE: 2027: ‘Nobody Owns Rivers Votes’ — ADC Fires Back at Wike
However, speaking in an interview previewed by Arise Television on Monday, Obi rejected the assessment, saying, “I passed through Anambra State, and I improved the state in critical areas of development. And I can do the same thing in Nigeria.”
The former Anambra governor said his administration would prioritise good governance, reduce waste and tackle corruption if given the opportunity to lead the country.
“I am sure that if given the opportunity, first I will bring civility and order in governance, and I will be able to cut costs of governance, which is irresponsible today. I will be able to do quite a number of things that will bring honour and respect to the country,” Obi said.
He also outlined some of the measures he intends to pursue, including fighting corruption, reducing waste, strengthening law and order and ensuring credible elections.
“I will fight corruption; I will deal with issues of waste, law and order, and rigging won’t take place under my watch; political parties will function, and things will be done properly,” he said.
According to Obi, national unity and security would also be among his major priorities, alongside investments in healthcare and education and efforts to reduce poverty.
“I will focus on our priorities to unite the country, as it’s not united today, and secure the country. Secondly, secure the country.
Thirdly, to ensure we prioritise critical areas of development, like health, education and pulling people out of poverty,” Obi added.
Datti’s Position
Baba-Ahmed made his comments during an interview on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye and posted on Saturday.
“I will simply advise Uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him because none of them will improve Nigeria,” he said.
When asked whether he was referring to all
the opposition candidates, Baba-Ahmed replied, “Tinubu should leave the stage. All those people contesting against him, too—they were all in bed together at some point or another.”
Asked specifically whether he was referring to Peter Obi, Baba-Ahmed said, “Including Peter Obi, I’m sorry to say.”
The Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress has hit back at Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his prediction that ADC vice-presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi would be defeated in the 2027 election.
The ADC warned that elections are not won through boasting, intimidation or political declarations, stressing that the people of Rivers State would ultimately determine who wins at the polls.
The state chairman of the party, Chukwudi Dimkpa, made the remarks in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday.
SEE MORE: ‘It’s a Lie’ — Wike’s Aide Debunks Peter Obi’s ‘No Shishi’ Claim
Dimkpa was reacting to comments reportedly made by Wike during a civic reception organised in his honour by the Ikwerre Local Government Area in Omagwa on Saturday.
Wike had reportedly stated that Amaechi would be defeated by 12 noon on election day.
But Dimkpa dismissed the declaration, insisting that the former Rivers State governor’s political fate would be determined by voters and the electoral process.
“Elections are not won by boasts, intimidation or political strongmen announcing results in advance. Rivers people will vote, the votes will be counted, and INEC, not Wike, will declare the winner,” he said.
The ADC chairman also condemned the decision to hold the political reception around the same period Amaechi was burying his mother, Dame Ezinne Amaechi, in Ubima.
According to him, Wike and the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Charles Wobodo, used the occasion to attack and taunt Amaechi while sympathisers from across the country were travelling to the community for the burial.
Dimkpa described the development as “insensitive, provocative and embarrassing.”
He questioned why Wike’s political rivalry with Amaechi could not be put aside, even temporarily, during the burial.
“If Wike could not suspend his political obsession with Amaechi even for the few hours in which the man was laying his mother to rest, then Rivers people should ask themselves who really is consumed by this rivalry,” he stated.
The ADC chairman said his party had deliberately refrained from responding immediately because its focus was on ensuring that Amaechi’s mother received a befitting burial.
He, however, warned that no individual or political leader should assume ownership of Rivers State or its electorate.
“Rivers State belongs to all of us. Nobody owns the people, nobody owns their votes, and certainly, nobody can declare an election result by 12 noon,” Dimkpa said.
He urged Rivers voters to reject intimidation and make their choice based on the candidate they believe can deliver meaningful development and improve their lives.
The Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has called on Governor Francis Nwifuru to apologise to residents or resign over his recent comments concerning the 2027 general elections.
The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Darlington Peter-Onwe, made the demand during a live radio programme on Friday, describing the governor’s remarks as capable of stoking political violence ahead of the elections.
Peter-Onwe was reacting to Nwifuru’s directive to newly sworn-in local government chairmen to ensure that the All Progressives Congress wins their respective councils in the 2027 elections or risk being removed from office.
SEE MORE: 2027: Massive Turnout as Adebutu, Iyabo Obasanjo Kick Off PDP Campaign in Ogun
“The Governor should apologise to Ebonyians or resign. He should retract the statement or step down because he has violated the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy,” Peter-Onwe stated.
“Section 14 of the Constitution explicitly provides that the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property. By making such statements, he is now the one insinuating violence.”
The PDP’s reaction followed comments made by Nwifuru during the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected local government chairmen and their deputies in Abakaliki on Tuesday.
While dismissing allegations of harassment and intimidation of political critics by APC members and supporters, the governor warned opposition politicians that they would “see real threats at the right time.”
Nwifuru also charged the council chairmen to ensure that the opposition does not win their respective local government areas in 2027.
“You must not allow the opposition to win in your respective local government councils during the 2027 general elections,” the governor told the chairmen.
“Any chairman who fails to win his council will be removed from office.
“We will use your councillor and remove you.
“If you allow anybody to come to your Local Government council and mess up, deal with that person mercilessly.”
The governor further said he deliberately made the remarks publicly because politicians do not speak in secret.
“I want this information to make the headlines because, as politicians, we do not speak in secret,” he said.
Reacting further, Peter-Onwe compared Nwifuru’s approach with that of Abia State Governor Alex Otti, whom he described as an example of leadership accountability.
“Look at what Governor Alex Otti did when there was a disruption in the education sector. He came out openly and apologised, admitting that it shouldn’t have happened.
That is the true strength of a leader,” he added.
The PDP spokesperson also alleged that the governor’s comments had contributed to hostility against opposition members and media practitioners in the state.
The development comes amid growing political activities and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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