Presenting numerous electoral documents, Usman Ododo, the governor of Kogi State, defended his triumph at the state governorship election petition tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday.
These documents, submitted by his legal representative, Paul Daudu, signaled the beginning of his defense against the petition contesting his win in the November 11 election.
In response to the election results, which left the Social Democratic Party and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka dissatisfied, they turned to the tribunal in an attempt to invalidate Ododo’s victory.
Earlier, the SDP and Ajaka, who initially listed 400 witnesses, concluded their case after summoning 25 witnesses on April 6.
Likewise, the Independent National Electoral Commission completed presenting its case on April 16, without calling any witnesses but presenting numerous documents.
The case was then closed by the commission, and the tribunal, presided over by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudo, adjourned until April 17 for Ododo to present his defense.
During the proceeding on Wednesday, Daudu submitted supporting documents for his victory in the seven disputed local governments.
The lawyer initiated this by presenting certified true copies of the documents, which had also been shared with the petitioners.
Daudu expressed the importance of the petitioners reviewing these documents before proceeding, stating, “It is only fair for them to peruse these documents to enable us to take off.”
He then requested a 30-minute break for the petitioners to examine the documents, a request which the tribunal approved, leading to the temporary suspension of the hearing.
Pius Akubo, SAN, representing the petitioners, did not object to this proposal.
However, after the documents were reviewed post-break, the tribunal, through its secretary, announced the adjournment of the case until April 18.