Today, the judgment is being heard regarding the dispute between the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged vote manipulation in certain constituencies within the Maradun Local Government Area. This legal proceeding is taking place at the tribunal in Sokoto.
Following a thorough examination of all witnesses and allegations related to the conduct of elections in specific polling units, the court addressed the concerns raised by the plaintiffs. They contended that no elections took place in certain constituencies and presented their evidence.
The court concluded that the APC did not receive the number of votes it had claimed in Maradun Local Government, which was reported to be 98,506 votes. Consequently, the court upheld the vote count announced by INEC for Maradun.
Alhaji Naziru Ibrahim (Abuja) released a statement as part of the court’s decision on the Maradun votes, which he shared on his Facebook page. In this statement, he mentioned that the court considered the documents presented by pw1 and pw17, along with their unequivocal statements during cross-examination, in which they admitted not being polling agents. The court deemed these documents as abandoned. As a result, the petitioner failed to attain the 98,506 votes they had claimed, and this issue was resolved in favor of the respondent.
Additionally, Alhaji Naziru Ibrahim noted that the evidence provided by pw1 to pw17 was considered hearsay and therefore not admissible in court. The court disregarded the testimony of all seventeen APC witnesses, as their statements were considered to lack a valid basis.
Regarding other evidence, the petitioner failed to submit two sets of documents, one of which was deemed correct and the other incorrect. The testimony of pw19 was found to be riddled with contradictions during cross-examination, as he stated that the referred document was unreadable.
Details coming shortly…
