Kogi gov’ship: Witnesses recant depositions at tribunal

Witnesses appearing before the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday disavowed their previous depositions before the panel.

The four witnesses, all from the Adavi Local Government Area of the state, had initially made depositions on behalf of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and had confirmed these depositions before the three-member panel.

They had testified that they voted at various polling units during the election held on November 11, 2023.

However, during cross-examination by counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the witnesses contradicted their earlier depositions, asserting that they were mere voters and not polling unit agents.

One of the witnesses, Rufai Muhammed, who had previously claimed that there was no validly accredited voter in the area, admitted that he was, in fact, validly accredited to vote and had done so.

Another witness, Yakubu AbdulAzeez, stated that he had observed the proceedings from a distance and had witnessed over-voting on election day.

Hamza Abdul Azeez, in his testimony, mentioned that he had written a letter of complaint to the tribunal about the over-voting but could not confirm the scores of each political party in his polling unit.

The witnesses said their lawyers wrote their depositions for them, but added that they couldn’t remember the names of the lawyers.

Meanwhile, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Yusuf Birnin-Kudu, has adjourned the matter to Tuesday, April 2, following an application for adjournment by counsel to the SDP.