BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

IlORIN- The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ilorin Wednesday, admitted a newspaper report where one of the petitioners and Governoship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Muhammed Dele Belgore SAN, was quoted as having described the April 2011 general elections as generally free, fair and credible in evidence.

The tribunal Chairman, Mrs Ngozi Emehelu in her ruling on the admissibility of the newspaper report said, “it is agreed that the documents produced are based on a supoena from the tribunal and the documents presented are relevant to the proceedings as applied in Agagu vs Mimiko. The document is therefore admissible, admitted and objection is hereby overruled”.

Earlier, counsel to first and second respondents respectively, Lawal Rabana, SAN, sought to tender as exhibits, the newspaper reports (The Punch and The Guardian of April 27, 2011).

In the two reports tendered through a staff of National Library, Belgore allegedly stated that the election was “impressive particularly the large turnout of the people.”

This was however objected by counsel to the petitioner, Osaro Eghobamien SAN, saying that the exhibits ought to have been front loaded.

Earlier during the cross-examination, witnesses presented by the petitioner had denied being forensic experts as against their statement on oath.

Testifying before the tribunal, a PDP witness, Lawal Lambe, who was the party’s agent and supervisor for Oke-Ode ward II in Ifelodun Local Government Area confirmed that the presiding officers at various polling units of the said ward properly carried out accreditation of voters before the commencement of election.

“I know that the election was generally peaceful and no incidence of violence, intimidation and/or harassment of voters in any of the polling units that make up Oke-Ode ward II”, Lambe said.

He further told the tribunal that members of the State Security Services, SSS, presiding officers from various polling units, representatives of respective political parties as well as members of the Nigeria Police Force were all in attendance at the collation centre in Oke-Ode ward II where the entire results for the ward were collated.

Another witness, Olakunle Salawu, a PDP ward supervisor for Akanbi ward II in Ilorin South Local Government also said all electoral forms relevant to the governorship election were duly completed and pasted at the polling units in the ward, adding that there was no snatching of ballot boxes by anybody as alleged by the ACN.