Bayelsa election: Appeal Court tribunal to play key video evidence
Former Bayelsa State governor,Chief Timipre Sylva got a major boost
Friday in his challenge of the re-election of the incumbent Seriake
Dickson.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, in a ruling Friday, ordered the State
Governorship Election Tribunal to play, in the open court, a digital
video disc (DVD) recording of the announcement of the cancellation of
the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government by the Resident
Electoral Commissioner (REC).
Sylva, who is contesting the declaration of Dickson as winner of
the last governorship election by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), contends, in his petition, that INEC’s REC lacked the
powers to cancel election.
The ex-governor, whose lawyer, Sebastine Hon (SAN) had pleaded was
denied the opportunity to play DVD when he applied to do so through a
witness.
However, the Court of Appeal Friday faulted the tribunal’s refusal to
allow Sylva play the DVD. It directed the tribunal to play the DVD in
the open court.
Justice Onyeakachi Ottis, who read the court’s unanimous judgment on
the interlocutory appeal by Sylva, set aside the tribunal’s ruling of
May 10, 2016 rejecting the request by Sylva lawyer to have the DVD
played.
The court said that contrary to the decision of the Tribunal the
appellant complied with the conditions precedence stipulated in Section
84 of the Evidence Act on the admissibility of electronically generated
evidence.
The appellate court held that it was wrong of the tribunal to have
misapplied Section 84 to deny the appellant the right to play the DVD in
the open court to justify his petition against the election of Governor
Seriake Dickson.
It said once the evidence had been admitted, having met all the
conditions under Section 84 of the Evidence Act, there was no need for
any certificate before any computer could be deployed to play the DVD in
evidence.
The court ordered the tribunal to recall the petitioner’s witness,
through which he had sought to play it, to play the said DVD in the open
court.
It noted that the DVD was pleaded by the petitioner; it is relevant
to the petition, and that it also the tendering also conforms to the law
on electronically generated document.
The court further noted that since it was admitted in evidence in
line with Section 84 of Evidence Act; the foundation for its admission
well laid, and the DVD well pleaded in the petition, “it is not the
decision of the judiciary to supply any authority other than to follow
the law in the circumstances.”
The court said there ought not to be any inhibition to the playing of
the DVD in the open court by the tribunal because all conditions
prescribed by law have been fulfilled by the appellant.
It held that the DVD ought to be played by the tribunal in the open
court to demonstrate that it intended not to make it a sleeping exhibit.
Reacting to the judgement, Hon described it as a milestone in the
development of our laws and will go a long way in strengthening the
laws.
He said justice has been done to in his client’s case.
Lawyer to Dickson, Emeka Etiaba (SAN) said his client would first study the judgment and then, decide on what next step to take
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