Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe (PDP-Cross River) has presented 1,531 exhibits as he kicks off the defence of his victory at the ongoing election petition tribunal.

Mr Jarigbe, representing Cross River North Senatorial District, also presented 33 witnesses before the tribunal in Calabar.

The lawmaker is being represented by a team of legal practitioners led by Mba Ukweni.

In the past week, the tribunal had taken on the 60 witnesses and 749 exhibits presented by the petitioners, former Governor Ben Ayade and the APC seeking to overturn Mr Jarigbe’s election.

Ruling on the matter, Justice. M. A. Sambo, who reduced the number of the defendant’s witnesses, mandated counsel to the defendant to call only 33 out of the 500 witnesses they had planned to present for cross-examination.

Addressing reporters at the court premises, Mr Ukweni said they had lined up more than 500 constituents from the Cross River North Senatorial District to testify.

He added that, unfortunately, the tribunal limited those to testify to just 33.

He refuted claims by the petitioners, led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, that the result of the election for Cross River North Senatorial District was rigged, stressing that no document was tendered to that effect.

“So it is not until their names and scores are included in Form EC8E1 that we can say that they participated or any crooked thing was done,” Mr Ukweni explained.

(NAN)