Tribunal adjourns as El Rufai opens defence

The Justice Ibrahim Bako-led Kaduna State Governorship Election Tribunal has adjourned sitting to Tuesday, July 23 to enable the second respondent bring more witnesses at the hearing of the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Isa Ashiru, challenging the March 9 election.

The second respondent, who opened his defence on Friday, was able to arraign just one witness before moving for adjournment.

Earlier, Malam Hussaini Barmo who was a member of the Election Planning and Monitoring Directorate of Kaduna State Chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC), adopted his deposition as evidence before the tribunal.

Cross examining the witness, counsel of APC, the third respondent, Barrister Sharafa Yusuf, asked him to confirm the results from Kubau local government, which Barmo did.

The witness also confirmed that the results were for voting points where the number of voters exceeded 750.

Malam Barmo also told the tribunal that results from each of such voting points were added to the mother polling units before the aggregate votes were recorded in the forms EC8E.

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Also cross examining the witness, counsel to the petitioner, Barrister Hassan El Yakub asked Barmo whether he was an agent of APC during the last election and he answered in the negative.

The witness however said that APC had agents in every ward throughout the state “but I was not one of them.”

Barmo further said that he got the information on pages 15 to 56 of his deposition “from party agents across polling units, wards and local governments of the state. ”

Barmo also said that he didn’t visit any polling unit, adding “the only polling unit that I went to was the one where I voted at Sardauna Crescent in Kaduna North local government.”

Counsel to Governor Nasir El Rufai who is the second respondent, AbdulHakeem Mustapha (SAN), moved a motion for adjournment to enable him arraign more witnesses, which the tribunal granted.