Engr Wada/PDP wins smart card appeal against APC’s Bello

The earlier rejection of smart card report by the Kogi Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has been upturned and is now to be accepted by the the Tribunal in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Card Reader Report has on it, report of biometric verification in the November 16, 2019 Kogi state Governorship Election.

The Tribunal had earlier rejected custody of the report in a document, marked as an important evidence after it failed to go into evidence through the consent of counsel to Engr Musa Wada prompting an appeal action.

In what seems to be a big victory for Engr Musa Wada and Peoples Democratic Party, “the Court of Appeal in No CA/ABJ/EPT/263/2020, Musa Atayi Wada and Or vs INEC and Ors has allowed the appeal of Engr Musa Atayi Wada and PDP against the rulings of Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja in which the Tribunal rejected the Smart Card Readers tendered through PW24, an INEC staff who was on subpoena to represent the Chairman of INEC.”

In the lead judgment delivered by Hon Justice M.B. Idris JCA and concurred by four other Justices of the Court the Court of Appeal held that the Tribunal was in error to have rejected the Smart Card Report without hearing the learned senior counsel to the appellants, Mr J.S.Okutepa SAN. 

The court of appeal dismissed the objection by Yahaya Bello as lacking in the merit. 

The Court of Appeal directed that the Smart Card Readers Report be admitted and directed that whatsoever objections to the Smart Card Readers Report be taken at the final address stage. 

The five man panel was led by Hon Justice Olukayode Bada JCA.

The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja previously rejected an exhibit tendered by Engr Musa Wada and the Peoples Democratic Party which was pleaded as a card reader report in the witness statement on oath, in what was considered as an attempt to manipulate the tribunal, Counsel to Engr Musa Wada, JS OKutepa SAN took a further step by appealing against the tribunal decision.

It is recalled that the Tribunal will reconvene on 15th May, 2020 for final briefings from parties.