In a significant turn of events, Justice Stephen Adah, who assumed the role of presiding judge after Justice Haruna Tsammani, made crucial rulings in the ongoing case involving Atiku's petition against President Tinubu. The proceedings saw the striking out of key evidence and exhibits.
Justice Adah's rulings included the dismissal of some of Atiku's witnesses' evidence because their witness statements on oath were not filed along with the petition. Additionally, 37 exhibits submitted by these witnesses were expunged from the court's records. On the matter of documents dumped in court, Justice Adah deemed this as a factor affecting the weight of evidence rather than its admissibility.
Furthermore, the Tribunal reiterated its earlier stance on the issues of Tinubu's conviction and dual citizenship, deeming them incompetent and thus striking them out.
After these preliminary proceedings, Justice Tsammani, the leader of the five-member panel, proceeded to address the main petition. The central issue revolved around the inability of election officers to transmit results electronically. Among the 27 witnesses called by the petitioner, 10 were polling unit agents. They testified that the voting process in their respective polling units proceeded smoothly and peacefully. However, they faced challenges in uploading the results electronically to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal, prompting manual submission of results to the ward and state collation centers.
This development sets the stage for further deliberations and analysis as the case unfolds