From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Lead counsel to Deputy Governor of Benue State Samuel Ode, Mamman Osuman, SAN has said he has substiantial evidence to show that the case against his client be dismissed.
This is just as the Election Petition Tribunal concluded pre-hearing in the case between the Peoples’ Democratic Party,PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC on the nomination of Samuel Ode as deputy governor.
Osuman said in an interview after Thursday’s sitting that the tribunal erred initially by hearing the matter in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
According to him, “first of all, the venue for the Governorship tribunal is determined by section 285 sub section (2) of the constitution to which there is no compromise, no one can change it except under very special circumstance. Such circumstance could be security, lack of infrastructure for the venue but this did not exist.
“To our greatest surprise, the sitting was moved to Lafia, Nasarawa State. I realized that it was wrong in law and so, I filed a motion supported by an affidavit and a written address saying that under section 285 sub section (2) and under paragraph 20 sub(2) of the schedule of the Electoral Act of 2022, the location for the trial was unconstitutional and error in law.
“Even though the petitioners filed a counter motion, it was surprising having regards that the petitioner’s counsel are Senior Advocate of Nigeria. On the basis of what I filed, the court read the law and reasoned and immediately returned it to the correct jurisdiction.
“And so, having been returned to the proper locus, today I moved an application to withdraw my earlier application because this court been a different quora made up of another set of judges, needed to recommence it De Novo, that is the pre-hearing. And so, it was a proper circumstances and the tribunal judges agreed with me and there was no objection from any quarter.
“We adopted after having an interface with the judges of the tribunal our form T008 which are answers in the questions posed in form T007 these were preliminary answers to assist the tribunal in adjudication and they were to make for speed and that have been done, the tribunal embarked on what is scheduling and given us date that the petitioners will begin and end their case and when the respondents will cross examine and when the respondents will bring their own witnesses whatever evidence the petitioners adduced.”
