In the ongoing vote-buying case involving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, Ladi Adebutu, the Nigerian digital payment company, Interswitch Limited, took the stand on Wednesday before a State High Court in Abeokuta.
The Federal government accused Adebutu and nine others of orchestrating vote buying during the March 18 governorship election in Ogun State, citing the issuance of N200,000 preloaded ATM Verve cards with N10,000 each distributed on the election day.
During the hearing, the Federal Government presented three witnesses, including Seyi Binuyo, a Scheme Managing Executive at Interswitch Ltd. Binuyo affirmed that the Verve cards were duly approved by Interswitch, following the guidelines set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He stated, “We reviewed the guidelines and checked through the request for the cards before giving our approval.”
The certificate of approval for the cards was submitted as evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs.
Additionally, voters who claimed to have received preloaded cards at their polling units were called as witnesses.
Gordy Uche, the defence counsel, cross-examined all witnesses, and Justice Abiodun Akinyemi adjourned the case until March 19 and 20 for further proceedings.
Speaking to journalists, Uche mentioned, “Today, we had witnesses called by the prosecuting counsel, and we cross-examined them.
The prosecuting counsel has stated he still has more witnesses, but we will be back here to continue with the evidence.”
Rotimi Jacobs, the prosecuting counsel, emphasised that when the case resumes, the Federal government plans to call more witnesses to substantiate its case. Jacobs stated, “We called three witnesses, and they were all cross-examined by the defendants, but we will continue with our witnesses. It is now left for the court to believe or disbelieve them.”
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