INEC Refuses To Produce Witnesses Against Atiku, Says “There’s No Need To Waste Court’s Precious Time”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday told the Presidential Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja that it will not call any witness in defence of the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its 2019 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yunus Usman, SAN, lawyer to INEC announced this at the resumption of proceedings at the Tribunal on Monday, according to The Nation.

INEC was expected to open its defence Monday (today) but when the case was called, Usman said they have scrutinized the evidence by witnesses called by the petitioners and found that there was no need for it. He said:

“We have painstakingly reviewed the evidence of the petitioners’ witnesses and studied the documents that they brought forward.

“The evidence support our defence and denial: they are in consonance with our pleadings. We do not see the need to waste the court’s precious time in repeating what the witnesses have already admitted.”.

INEC was expected to present its witnesses in the next six days.

Atiku and PDP had closed their case at the Justice Mohammed Garba led five-man Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.