By Seyi Odewale
A witness for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) at the Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal has told the panel that a BVAS machine rejected her voter’s card during the June 20 election because the photograph appeared to contain two heads.
The witness, Folasade Imade, gave the evidence on Monday during continued proceedings before the three-member panel led by Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi.
The SDP is challenging the election of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who won the poll with 319,224 votes.
The SDP polled 179 votes.
During cross-examination, Imade said the incident occurred at her polling unit in Odo Ayedun, Ikole Local Government Area.
She told the tribunal that electoral officers asked her to step aside after the BVAS machine rejected her voter’s card because of the anomaly in the photograph section.
Imade also admitted that she did not know the petitioner in the case for which she appeared as a witness.
She further faced questions over an allegation in her witness statement that N15,000 was shared at the polling unit.
Under cross-examination, she admitted that she could not have known the exact amount because she did not count the money.
Another SDP witness, Seyi Alade, caused a stir when she said she had made her witness statement on oath three years earlier.
The document, however, showed that the deposition was made on July 11, 2026.
Attempts by SDP counsel Nnamdi Chukwudebelu to have the witness correct the evidence after it had been recorded were rejected by the panel.
Justice Kutigi said the counsel’s intervention amounted to “leading evidence from the Bar.”
The judge warned counsel to allow witnesses to answer questions and said proceedings would be conducted in accordance with the law.
“Do you want to lead evidence from the Bar? What does cross-examination entail?” Kutigi asked.
The panel also cautioned Chukwudebelu against repeatedly interrupting proceedings and directing how evidence should be recorded.
Another SDP witness, Comfort Obafemi, admitted under cross-examination that there was no photograph on her party membership card.
Other witnesses who testified for the SDP included Joseph Tola, Christiana Akinyemi, Bosede Apara and Funke Alakuro.
Alakuro reportedly recanted a paragraph in her witness statement, describing it as a “lie” during cross-examination.
The tribunal is continuing with the hearing of evidence in the petition challenging the June 20 governorship election.
