The election petition tribunal on the Delta state governorship election sitting in Asaba, yesterday, September 1, declared a management staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Felix Enabor a hostile witness.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
Enabor, who is the head of the department of general administration and procurement of the INEC in Asaba, appeared to give testimony on behalf of the resident electoral commissioner and the head of operations of the commission, who were under subpoena to give evidence by the petitioners, The Sun reports.
The governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Great Ogboru, in the petition is challenging at the Delta tribunal the return by the INEC of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party in the April 11 election.
Enabor had been shown his witness statement taken on oath which was administered by the counsel to the petitioners, Robert Emukpoeruo, but Enabor’s statement was picked on as giving adverse evidence against the petitioners.
Emukpoeruo applied to the tribunal for the witness to be declared hostile, relying on Section 230 of the Evidence Act, 2011 and citing certain paragraphs in the deposition on oath, which touched on the alleged commission of a crime.
The counsel said that whereas the subpoena served on the witness was directed to give specific testimony on the petition, Enabor had gone outside the petition and the subpoena to make up criminal allegations.
Arguing further, the counsel said that the witness has treated the petitioners as enemies with his deposition which he further insisted was full of hostility and thus would have adverse effect on the case of the petitioners.
However, counsels to governor Okowa, PDP and INEC, Alex Iziyon, Timothy Kehinde and Onyechi Ikpeazu at the Delta tribunal vehemently opposed the application describing the move as very bizarre and unknown to law, and that section 230 of the Evidence Act has not been complied with.
Iziyon pointed out that the request to label the witness as hostile is not automatic as it cannot be invoked.
One of the counsels to the PDP, Kehinde opposed the application and said that the condition precedent for the tribunal to exercise such decision has not been met.
Kehinde said: “a party producing a witness is under obligation not to be allowed to impugn on the credibility of his witness by general conduct or behavior,” adding that “there is no doubt that the witness is at the command of the tribunal, whose sole duty it is to help the tribunal to arrive at a just decision and not under any obligation to give evidence that is favorable to the parties except to say the truth.”
The presiding chairman of the National Assembly election tribunal for Anambra state, Justice Nayai Aganaba has warned the INEC against disregarding orders from the tribunal.
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