It turned out to be a game of wits between Professor Edoba Omoregie and the APC Counsel when the Professor of Law took the witness' stand to testify as a ward collation officer for the PDP in Egor Local Government Area in the September 28, 2016 Edo State Governorship Election.
Naturally, the witness' appearance in court caused a buzz given the fact of his being popularly recognized as a professor of law and a legal practitioner. It was like a predator turned prey; and everybody was curious to see how he would escape the hunters' ambush.
The learned witness rose to the occasion when the erudite counsel to the respondents grilled him over his averments in his deposition that there was improper accreditation of voters in the units within his jurisdiction as the ward collation officer. Asked if he was accredited before voting, Professor Omoregie responded that he could only be certain of that if he is availed of the voters register used for the voting exercise. He however said that he voted, having presented his voter's card to the INEC election staff.
The drama heightened when one of the respondents' counsel pointed out that no where in the the witness' deposed evidence was over-voting mentioned contrary to his present claim. The learned witness, in response, drew the attention of the Tribunal to his deposition where he stated that whereas 335 persons were claimed to have been accredited, 340 persons were recorded has having voted. He said that this is what he understands as over voting, for which he called for the cancellation of the result of that particular unit as well as other similar developments.
At the end of his cross examination, no one was left in doubt that the professor had expertly wriggled out of the net of legal wit. However, the ultimate perception is the preserve of the honourable panelists of the Tribunal.
No comments:
Post a Comment