Four SDP witnesses give conflicting testimonies at Kogi tribunal

Four Social Democratic Party (SDP) witnesses testified at the ongoing hearing of the Kogi State election petition tribunal in Abuja and gave contradictory testimonies on the conduct of the poll.

The witnesses gave their accounts before the three-member panel of justices led by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu.

The SDP and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, are challenging Governor Usman Ododo’s victory in the November 11, 2023 election in Kogi State.

During Wednesday’s session, there were different accounts by the witnesses, especially during cross-examination.

A witness from the Ajaokuta local government area of the state, Danlamin Yakubu, said he was an SDP agent during the election.

Yakubu, who said he was a member of the SDP, a voter, and the party’s agent during the poll, however, told the tribunal that he had lost everything that could prove that he was an agent.

When asked if he stated in his deposition before the tribunal that he was an agent in the election, he said he forgot to do so.

He also claimed that his lawyer wrote his deposition for him.

READ ALSO: Appeal Court vacates inspection order granted to SDP by Kogi tribunal

When his attention was brought to paragraph 4 of his deposition that he did not indicate the total number of accredited voters, the witness said it was a typographical error.

Although in his deposition, Yakubu indicated that the number of registered voters in his polling unit was 771, when he was asked to confirm the number, he gave a conflicting response.

“I did not indicate that I voted in my deposition,” he said.

Another witness, Abdulkareem Ogeja, from the same local government area, said that he was a member of the SDP, but did not state his membership of the party in his disposition.

The witness, however, said he was not the party’s agent during the election.

When the respondent’s counsel asked if he was surprised that the SDP agent did not complain and he was the only one complaining, Ogeja said, “I’m not surprised.”

Emmanuel Ohiare, from Okehi LGA, and Abdullahi Musa from Ajaokuta LGA, equally testified at the sitting.

The tribunal adjourned the sitting till April 4 for continuation of hearing.

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