The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Friday called an ‘expert witness’, David Njoga, as its 59th petitioners’ witness to testify before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on issues relating to the use or not of server and electronic transmission of results during the February 23, 2019 presidential election.
Atiku and PDP are challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress at the poll.
Puncheports that before calling the witness, the petitioners had through their lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), tendered as exhibits some documents relating to the testimony of the witness.
Some of the documents tendered were titled, ‘Expert Report of INEC’s Information System as revealed by the whistle-blower’s site’, admitted as Exhibit P87; and ‘Download from the website, www.factsdontlie.com’.
The certificate of compliance accompanying the documents was also admitted as Exhibit P89.
Another document titled ‘Executive summary of 11 states under review’ was admitted as Exhibit P90.
The respondents’ lawyers comprising, Yunus Usman (SAN), for the Independent National Electoral Commission; Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), for Buhari and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for the All Progressives Congress, reserved their objections to the admissibility of the documents.
After the tendering of the documents the petitioners’ lawyer, Uche, called Njoga, whom he described as an expert witness brought to court on a subpoena.
Uche tendered the subpoena as an exhibit and it was admitted by the court.
Only Buhari’s lawyer, Olanipekun, objected to the admissibility of the subpoena, but all the respondents’ lawyers objected to calling of the witness but reserved their reasons till the final address stage.
