Legal representatives of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), have come under fire for clashing and attacking each other verbally during the court proceedings, News About Nigeria reports.
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) issued a cautionary statement to the lawyers, advising them against making derogatory remarks about each other.
During the proceedings on Wednesday, Peter Obi’s lead counsel, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), accused INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu of evading court summons.
Uzoukwu claimed that the INEC Chairman had rejected a subpoena from the court’s bailiff.
Following his submission, he requested an adjournment of the proceedings.
However, one of INEC’s counsels, Oluwakemi Pinheiro (SAN), countered Uzoukwu’s allegations by stating that the petitioners were attempting to blame his client for their own shortcomings.
Pinheiro argued that it had become a common practice for Peter Obi’s legal team to find excuses whenever they wanted to seek an adjournment.
He urged them not to use INEC as a scapegoat and accused them of stalling the case.
Pinheiro pointed out that despite claiming they would present 50 witnesses, they had only called two so far, and two weeks had already passed since the tribunal began.
In response to the heated exchange, the five-member panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, admonished the lawyers to refrain from denigrating each other.
Justice Tsammani reminded Uzoukwu that he knew the appropriate course of action if INEC was indeed engaging in any improper behavior.
The panel also advised all the lawyers to maintain their composure, stating that regardless of the case’s outcome, they were still colleagues.
Subsequently, the court adjourned the proceedings to Thursday for the continuation of the hearing.
