A Twitter user claimed that the lawyers of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), informed the court that two of the party’s star witnesses who ought to testify in court on Wednesday, May 31, were absent on account of sickness.
The Twitter post has since generated over 13,000 views as of when it was retrieved on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
Claim: Peter Obi’s lawyers informed the Presidential Election Petition Court that the party’s star witnesses were sick and couldn’t attend the sitting on May 31, 2023
Verification:
The CDD War Room was present at the Presidential Election Petition Court to observe the proceedings held on May 31, 2023. We can confirm that the lead counsel of the Labour Party, Livy Uzoukwu, informed the court that he could not continue with the presentation of documents/evidence and thereafter requested an adjournment.
According to him, the members of staff who were to bring the documents to the court were ill and unavoidably absent. Uzoukwu never referred to them as “witnesses”.
Verdict: Misleading
The claim that Obi’s lawyers told the court that their star witnesses were sick, is misleading. The lead counsel only told the court that the staff members who were to bring some documents to the court were ill and unavoidably absent.
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