Toba Owojaiye Reporting
Dr. Tanko Yunusa, the spokesperson for the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council and a witness, has provided clarification regarding the party’s limited number of witnesses in the ongoing presidential election petition tribunal.
Dr. Yunusa explained that due to the court granting them a restricted timeframe, the party was only able to feature approximately 10 witnesses.
Initially, Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, had announced his intention to present 50 witnesses to testify and provide evidence supporting their claims of election rigging against President Tinubu’s victory.
However, Obi concluded his case last Friday, having presented only 10 witnesses instead of the initially planned 50. This drew criticism from certain segments of the public, particularly members of the ruling All Progressive Congress, who questioned Obi and his legal team’s dedication and dismissed them as lacking seriousness in their challenge.
In response to the criticism, Dr. Tanko clarified during an interview that it had been agreed upon by all parties to limit the number of witnesses to at least 10 in order to save time.
He further confirmed that despite this agreement, some of their witnesses were unable to testify due to time constraints and unforeseen circumstances.
Dr. Tanko stated, “It has to do with the relationship of the processes because it was agreed that there would be time allocated to those who would defend, ask questions, and cross-examine. Time was allocated, for example, if you are presenting a witness, you have 30 minutes, and then for cross-examination, 15 to 20 minutes.”
He explained that the agreement was made among all the lawyers in the court to manage time effectively, as what could be achieved with 50 witnesses could also be accomplished within a shorter period of time with 10 witnesses. He also mentioned that even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may have only two witnesses and may not even present them.
Dr. Tanko added, “We did our best to present all our witnesses. However, some of them couldn’t travel due to the limited time to meet the remaining ones that we wanted to present.”
When asked if he was satisfied and had confidence in the process, he expressed hope, though he refrained from stating confidence, as the Nigerian judicial system has had its ups and downs in the past. Nevertheless, he remained hopeful that the outcome would favor the Nigerian people.