During the proceedings at the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, a witness from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) sparked a mild drama by giving conflicting statements regarding the documents presented against Governor Usman Ododo’s election.
The petitioners, Muritala Ajaka and SDP, veered away from BVAS after their key witness revealed that he was not present in Kogi State during the election and accused the All Progressives Congress candidate, now Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, of falsifying his age declaration affidavit.
The witness, Dan Musa Williams from the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, initially claimed that the documents were not authentic, but upon further questioning, he struggled to support his allegations.
When questioned if he had verified the authenticity of the documents through the registry records, the witness admitted that he only glanced at the date, which was a Saturday, and assumed the documents were not legitimate.
Interestingly, it was later discovered that the affidavit in question was sworn in Okene, Kogi State, not in the FCT as claimed by the witness.
The witness mentioned that a lawyer had forwarded the affidavit to him, leading to more confusion in the courtroom.
Further discrepancies arose when the witness asserted that the affidavit submitted by the APC candidate was fake because it lacked the deponent’s name and picture. However, upon examination, it was revealed that the affidavit submitted to the INEC included both the name and picture of the deponent and was sworn in Okene, not the FCT.
Due to these contradictions between the witness’s oral testimony and the documents he presented, the Tribunal had to pause the proceedings as the witness failed to provide a coherent defense.
Subsequently, the Tribunal rescheduled the next hearing for March 30, 2024.