The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Sokoto State, has adjourned its sitting to July 11 for continuation of hearing, as the PDP governorship candidate, Sa’idu Umar, presented 31 witnesses.
Umar approached the tribunal, demanding the nullification of March 18 election that produced Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of APC and his Deputy, Idris Gobir as winners.
Among the witnesses subpoenaed in the witnesses that testified in the case included Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Head Teacher of Model Primary School, Sabon Birni, Acting Head of ICT of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Sokoto, Abubakar Usman and PDP polling agents during the election.
In a general remark at the resumed sitting on Thursday, the tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Haruna Mshelia, urged people to respect public interests and the rule of law.
Mshelia made the remark while responding to PDP Lead Counsel, Sunday Ameh SAN, who prayed the tribunal to take judicial notice of alleged threat to lives of some of those subpoenaed as petitioners’ witnesses.
The judge said Sokoto State was an organised society and citizens known with respect to values.
Earlier, Ameh told the tribunal that some of the subpoenaed witnesses arranged to testify before the tribunal were allegedly being threatened which might jeopardise the processes.
The lead Respondents’ Counsel, Chief Jecob Ochidi SAN, argued that such statements should be submitted in writing while the APC lead counsel, Hassan Liman SAN, said APC was a law-abiding party that sought the governorship position in last four years.