C’River Tribunal Orders Forensic Probe Of INEC Materials

The National and State
Legislative Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State is insisting that the use of forensic analysis to ascertain the veracity of votes cast is relevant as it strives to dispose the electoral disputes before it.
Our correspondent reports that the three-member Tribunal led by Justice Christopher Awubra confirmed that much in a ruling over a petition filed by a counsel in a Petition Number EPT/CR/SE/2/2015, Barrister Essien Andrew, in which he prayed for the granting of an opportunity to call more witnesses to buttress his claims.
The petition which is questioning the outcome of the Cross River Southern Senatorial District poll, was filed by Senator (Prince) Bassey Otu of the Labour Party (LP) challenging the victory of Senator Gershom Bassey of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The petitioner had defected from the PDP to LP having been denied the return ticket for the second term bid to the Red Chambers of the National Assembly.
Counsel to the petitioner, Essien Andrew (Esq.), had prayed the Tribunal in a motion to allow it to call two additional witnesses such as the Forensic Expert and another person in its determined effort to corroborate the analysis and maintain its case before the jury.
The respondents led by Barrister NtaAkpanNta for the first respondents, appearing with Barristers EfefiomEdemEkong and EniOkoi for the second and third respondents, (PDP and INEC respectively) opposed the submission and prayed the Tribunal to dismiss the application of the petitioner.
One of the respondent’s Counsels, Barrister Barth Izato, tried unsuccessfully to convince the Tribunal that he was present during the inspection of the materials used for the election as directed even though he did not receive a formal invitation to do so.
In its ruling, the Tribunal upheld that the application and the motion were binding, and tenable because it was neither intended to amend its earlier stance nor to abuse the principle of fair hearing as alleged by the respondents.
The ruling restated that the Electoral Act 2011, as amended, provides that the inspection of disputed election materials (Forensic Analysis) can be adopted before or after a petition has been filed and can also be utilized to maintain, sustain and explain that so filed.

Friday Nwagbara, Calabar