Justice Angela Otaluka of Niger State Election Petition Tribunal, EPT, on National Assembly has said that the tribunal under her watch will not allow any act of technicality from legal practitioners that will participate in the tribunal.
She warned that lawyers should endeavour to avoid unnecessary technicality that will stampede the process of the tribunal, stressing the need for them to file any of their documents that will enable the tribunal meet the 180 days allotted to the completion of its procedures.
Otaluka gave the warning at the pre-hearing of the tribunal sitting in Minna stating that lawyers should get all their documents and processes and any other process within fourteen days to the commencement of the hearing proper.
She said, the tribunal has 180 days to fold up its sitting and is expected of all participants in the tribunal to file what ever documents and process within fourteen days in the pre-hearing.
She said: “Any technicality from lawyers will not be allowed.
“Please try as much as possible to file all your process, response, and application for us to forge ahead as this will enable us meet up”, insisting that the tribunal has a very limited period of time to hear most of the petitions.
“It will be improper for lawyers to hold the process and members of the tribunal to ramsom, adding that “I will not allow that.”
A total of Eight petitions emanating from the conduct àof the 25 February Presidential and National Assembly Elections were adopted at the Friday pre-hearing sitting by all the legal practitioners of both petitioners and Plaintiffs in the matters.
Among the lawyers that appeared at the Friday (today), pre-approved sitting of the tribunal include both Barrister Mahmud Magaji SAN, Barrister Mohammed Kudu Ndayako SAN, Barrister Jonathan Taidi Gani, Barrister Aliyu Ibrahim Lemu and Barrister Mohammed Abdulkadir Waziri, the Chairman Minna Branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) among other legal practitioners.
CAPITAL POST learnt that the tribunal will be sitting through weekend to meet with the 180 days of the completion of the proceedings.
