The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commenced its defence of the presidential election held on February 25th in Abuja. However, the proceedings got off to a shaky start as none of the three INEC witnesses were present at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPEC).
In a departure from the court’s scheduled activities, INEC arrived without any witnesses, despite being responsible for conducting the disputed election and being slated to present its defence. Abubakar Balarabe Mahmood SAN, the lead counsel for INEC and former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), notified the court of his intention to summon three witnesses to refute the allegations put forth by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Gregory Obi.
He, however, lamented that none of the witnesses was in court due to domestic reasons for him to open the defense. The senior lawyer pleaded with the court to bear with him and applied for adjournment of his defense.