The petition filed by council chairman of Langtang South Local Government Area, Hon. Vincent Bulus Venman, of the All Progressive Congress (APC) challenging Hon. Beni Daushep Lar, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before the National Assembly Petition Tribunal sitting Jos, has been adjourned to June 19.
This was to enable the Tribunal conclude on applications or submissions made by Counsels during the Friday’s pre-hearing session held at Court ‘4’ of the Jos High Court, Plateau State where Counsel to the Petitioner Barr. Edward Pwajok, SAN, applied for the the amendment of some paragraphs in the petition for purpose of justice.
However, Counsel to the 2nd Respondent, earlier objected and urged the Tribunal to dismiss the application on ground that no amendment was not supposed to be entertained after 21 days of filing a petition because it was coming at an odd time.
Countering the objection of Counsel to the 2nd Respondent, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who is the Counsel to the Petition, quoted the case of INEC verses Yusuf in 2022 and said, the amendment was not to temper with the substance of the petition, but to correct some typographical errors in the petition to give room for smooth abdication of justice.
He, therefore, appealed to the Tribunal to allow the submission to go on and be adopted so that, proper amendment should be made for the interest of both Counsels and justice which they all sought to achieve in order to distinguish documents that would give them way to bring in witnesses.
The Tribunal, after considering both applications and counter applications during the pre-hearing arguments in the case, adjourned the case to Monday June 19, 2032 to conclude the pre-hearing and subsequently continue with the hearing proper where witnesses would entertained.
SUNDAY STANDARD observed that only the Petitioner, Hon. Vincent Bulus Venman, who is PW1 was in Court in person, but the Respondent, Hon. Beni Daushep, was absent and represented by her Counsel respectively.
It would be recalled that, Hon. Venman contested for position of the National Assembly Member representing Langtang-South Constituency under the umbrella of the APC with Hon. Lar, of PDP on February 15, 2023 but was declared second after Hon. Lar, who came first.
