The All Progressives Congress and the Kogi West senator, Smart Adeyemi, on Tuesday closed their case at the election petitions tribunal sitting in Abuja where their victory in the November 2019 rerun in the senatorial district is being challenged by their Peoples Democratic Party rival, Dino Melaye.

The rerun which held in 53 polling units on November 30, 2019, was ordered in the judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified Melaye’s victory in the main election earlier held in March 2019.

Adeyemi of the APC was declared the winner at the end of the rerun.

Melaye is now challenging Adeyemi’s victory at the tribunal.

Melaye and the PDP, the petitioners who instituted the case, had earlier closed their case after calling witness.

INEC, the first respondent in the case, had last week closed its case without calling any witness.

Counsels for Adeyemi, and the APC, Dr Otitoju Oladapo and Mr. M. Abdullahi, respectively, also on Tuesday closed their cases without calling a witness.

The lawyers maintained that the petitioners did not make any case warranting them to put up any defence.

Melaye’s lawyer, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, sought to be allowed to be the first to file written address, but the application was opposed by the lawyers representing the respondents, including INEC’s lawyer, Chris Alashey.

The Justice Isa Sambo-led three-man tribunal fixed Wednesday for ruling on who to first file the final address.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.