The Lagos State Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal on Thursday fixed April 16 for the Badagry Local Government Chairman, Mr Moses Husitode,?to open his defence in the petition filed against him.
The PDP Chairmanship Candidate, Mr Mustapha Adisa Dada, had filed a petition against the ACN candidate, HusiTode, who was declared the elected council chairman, alleging irregularities and fraud in the poll.
Adisa, who also joined the the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) and 12 others, urged ?the tribunal to declare him winner as he won 7,350 votes, as against the 6,383 votes scored by Husitode.
At the resumed hearing of the petition on Thursday, counsel for the petitioner, Mr Azeez?Olagoke, told the tribunal that the DPO, Badagry Police Division, Mr Aliko?Dankoli, was only served with his bench warrant today (April 12).
“It was only this morning that the Sheriff was able to serve the witness with the warrant, as ordered by the tribunal, to enable the respondents to cross-examine him.
“Unfortunately, he could not be here and the tribunal cannot continue to wait as this is an election matter that requires all urgency and should be determined at the shortest time, so the petitioner will be closing its case,’’ he said.
Counsel for the respondents, Mr Ezekiel Afolayan, however, told the tribunal that he was not ready to waive his right to cross-examine the witness, saying that the rules of the court were clear that once a witness gives evidence, he should be cross-examined.
“If the witness is not around for cross-examination, his evidence should be expunged from the court’s records,’’ he said.
The Tribunal Chairman, Justice Francis Owobiyi, however, held that hearing of the petition would continue, while the issue of expunging the evidence from the tribunal’s records could be addressed at the counsel's final written address. (NAN)