ANXIETY AS TRIBUNAL FIXES JUDGMENT DATE ON PETITION AGAINST BAYELSA ,SPEAKER

Anxiety has gripped the camp of the Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Nestor Binabo as the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Yenagoa has fixed October 19 for judgment on the petition brought by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr. Barnabas Edure, seeking to upturn the victory of Binabo.

Edure who is challenging the victory of Binabo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tendered documents which the court has accepted as exhibits where he claimed that Binabo was not qualified to contest the elections because, he allegedly forged the certificates he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

At the resumed hearing of the petition for the adoption of written addresses of the parties, the issue of the validity of documents tendered before the tribunal by Edure became a serious debate when the counsel to Binabo, Somina Johnbull argued that the tribunal should disregard the documents and dismiss the prayers of the petitioners.

According to him, having accepted that the documents he presented are certified photocopies, Edure has failed in point of law to establish his case. He argued that the tribunal should rely on the case between Great Ogboru and Emmanuel Udughan, where the Court of Appeal ruled that photocopies of public documents are not admissible as evidence.

However, in a counter argument, counsel to Edure, Silvanus Abila punctured the submission of Johnbull, pointing out that photocopies of documents are valid and admissible in a court of law. Citing Amosun vs INEC and Magaji vs Nigeria Army, Abila argued that the Supreme Court had set aside the Court of Appeal judgment being cited by Johnbull as it ruled that, certified photocopies are admissible in court.

Abila who stressed that the tribunal is bound by law to follow the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court as it overrides that of the Court of Appeal explained that, the case of his client was premised on the section 107 (1) 1999 constitution. He therefore appealed to the tribunal to grant the prayers of the petitioners.

Attempts by Johnbull to respond to the submissions of Abila were halted by the tribunal Chairman, Justice Christopher Auta who reminded him of the supremacy of the Supreme Court judgments over that of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Auta fixed October 19 for judgment on the petition.