YAKUBU JCA (Delivering the Lead Judgment): The appellant, along with his political party - the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) had on 2 August 2012, filed a petition at the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, holden at Benin City, against the election of the 1st respondent on 14 July 2012 as the duly elected Governor of Edo State. The petitioners’ witnesses were listed as thirty-one (31) and each of their written depositions on oath were all contemporaneously filed and frontloaded along with the said petition.
In an application filed on 10 August 2012 at the instance of the 2nd petitioner - the PDP, that it was no longer desirous of prosecuting and/or maintaining the aforesaid petition, her name was struck out as a party to the petition.
Each set of the respondents reacted to the petition by filing their replies to it. They also filed each of their witnesses’ statements on oath contemporaneously with their replies to the petition. In response to the aforesaid replies, …