JUDICIARY
Presidential Election Result was wrongly Computed, Dino Melaye Tells PEPC
Sen. Dino Melaye, a star witness of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party has told the Presidential Election Petition Court, (PEPC) that the final result of the presidential election was wrongly computed and announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Melaye, the 22nd witness of the petitioners made the assertion on Friday in Abuja.
Led in evidence by the petitioner’s lead counsel, Mr Chris Uche, SAN, Melaye who told the court that he was PDP’s National Collation Agent, identified himself as a businessman and a politician.
The witness said that the presidential result, as announced by INEC Chairman, Prof.
Yakubu Mahmood, was wrongly computed and that he refused to sign the results.He added that he walked out of the national collation centre before the end of the process as the national collation agent of the petitioners when he discovered the fraudulent activities going on at the centre.
Under cross-examination by INEC’s lawyer, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, Melaye said most PDP agents across the country did not sign the Form EC8As which were the result from the polling units.
The witness further said that the results brought to the national collation centre by state electoral officers were at variance with the results recorded in the state.
Melaye said that he had three major grouses with the conduct of the election one of which was the refusal of INEC to transmit the election results electronically to its portal.
He said his depositions in his statements were based on his personal experience at the national collation centre and information from the party agents across the country who reported to him as the national collation agent of the party.
He also said that some of the reports given by the agents were live feeds of what was happening at their location real time through the use of technology.
Under cross examination from counsel to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Akin Olujinmi, SAN, Melaye said that the failure of INEC to transmit results from Form EC8As to its I-ReV was an infringement of the law.
He, however, said that the result captured in Form EC8A could not be changed even where it was not transmitted electronically.
The witness further told the court that as a contributor to the drafting of the Electoral Act, the conduct of the presidential election was not done according to the law.
Said that that electronic transmission of results from the polling units unto the IReV was a very important aspect of the election process, adding that without that, the election circle could not be said to have been completed.
“Result is transmitted from polling units before you move to the ward collation center.”
When asked to give the actual scores of Atiku in the election since he claimed the scores were wrongly computed, the witness said that he did not calculate them directly but that they were calculated through his statistician.
The five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani then discharged Melaye from the witness box after all the respondents had questioned him.
The petitioners also tendered two sets of documents acquired from INEV via a subpoena issued on May 26 at Friday’s proceeding.
The documents are the certified true copies of Forms EC8A series from 13 local government areas of Nasarawa.
The second set of documents are Forms EC40G and Form EC40G(2), which were summaries of polling units where elections were cancelled or disrupted.
All the respondents objected to the admissibility of the documents saying they would advance reasons for their objection at the fin address stage.
The documents were however, admitted in evidence.
The court subsequently adjourned proceedings until June 19.(NAN)
JUDICIARY
Court Strikes Ex-Kogi Governor’s Bail Application
Justice Maryann Anenih o a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court on Tuesday struck out the bail application filed by former governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi.Anenih struck out the application on the grounds that it was filed when the former governor was yet to be taken into custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The application was filed on Nov. 22, while the former governor was taken into custody of the anti-graft agency on Nov. 26 and arraigned on Nov. 27.(NAN)Details later….
JUDICIARY
5 Men Face N25m Worth of Milo Products Theft Charge
Five men, on Monday appeared before an Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun, for allegedly stealing a truck load of Milo products worth N25 million.The defendants, Temidire Ramon, 35, Aminu Yusuf, 26; Olusola Opadare, 35; Oludayo Adeleye, 38, and Amodu Jimoh, 51, are standing tial on a two-count charge of stealing and conspiracy.
The prosecutor, Insp E. O.Adaraloye, told the court that the defendants committed the offences on Oct. 13, 2020, at Agbara in Ogun.Adaraloye, said that the defendants conspired and stole a truck load of Milo products valued at N25 million, belonging to Nestle Company.He said that the offences contravened Sections 390(9) and 516 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun, 2006.They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.The Magistrate, Mr O.A Onagoruwa, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.He ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.Onagoruwa also ordered that the sureties must show evidence of tax payment to Ogun State Government.He adjourned the case until Dec.12 for hearing. (NAN)JUDICIARY
Court Grants Mother Custody of 2 Children
A Grade 1 Area Court, Kubwa has granted Maryam Muhammad custody of two children from her former husband, Bashir.
The judge, Musa Sabo ordered Bashir to pay Muhammad N175,000 for a self contained apartment in arrears following the plaintiff’s claim of already paid rent.
Sabo added that Bashir should secure a self contained apartment or pay the plaintiff N250, 000 annually for accommodation.
He said that the children would spend first and third term holidays with their father and second term holidays with their mother.
The judge said the father could pick his children up every weekend for outings within 10a.m to 6.pm from the mother and notify her before hand.
He also ordered him to pay outstanding school fees if any and pay the plaintiff arrears for the fees she claimed to pay after verifying same as she failed to prove it.
Sabo ordered Bashir to pay N40,000 from October 2023 To February 2024 and subsequently pay N45,000 monthly for the children’s upkeep..
Regarding the children’s medication, he ordered Bashir to make an arrangement based on his financial capability.
Earlier, the plaintiff approached the court for custody of her children, maintenance, Islamiyya school fees, enrollment of one of the children in a special needs school and transportation.
She also sought for Bashir to refund N770, 000 which she paid for her house rent with the children and pay for the medicals of the children.
Bashir however said his ex-wife paid the rent without his consent adding that he is a civil servant and not financially capable.
“I do not earn up to N2 million annually and I am currently paying N600,000 rent annually. My children are already under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),” he said.(NAN)