8 months ago
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There were mixed reactions on Friday at the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal after a witness from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) contradicted the submitted documents against Governor Usman Ododo’s election.
At the Court today, the petitioners, Muritala Ajaka and SDP, deviated from BVAS after their key witness claimed he was not present in Kogi State during the election and accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Governor Usman Ododo, of forging his age declaration affidavit.
The witness, Dan Musa Williams from the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, stated that the documents did not originate from the Court.
However, during cross-examination, he failed to provide substantial evidence to support his claims.
When questioned about whether he had checked the registry records to confirm the authenticity of the documents, the witness admitted that he had only looked at the date, which was a Saturday, and concluded that they could not have come from the Court.
It was later discovered that the ‘declaration of age’ affidavit was actually sworn to in Okene, Kogi State, and not in the FCT, Naija News understands.
According to the Daily Post report, the witness alleged that a lawyer had sent him the document in question. Subsequently, confusion arose when the witness asserted that he believed the affidavit provided by the APC candidate was counterfeit due to the absence of the deponent’s name and photo.
Upon being directed to an affidavit submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that included both the deponent’s picture and name, the SDP witness acknowledged that it was sworn in Okene, not in FCT.
The discrepancies between the witness’s testimony in Court and the evidence he presented to the Tribunal led to a pause in the proceedings, as he was unable to provide a further explanation after the inconsistencies were highlighted.
The Tribunal has postponed the continuation of the hearing until March 30, 2024.
