Paragraph 16(1) of the 1 st schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 stipulates as follows; ‘If a person in his reply to the election petition raises new issues of facts in defence of his case which the Petition has not dealt with, the petitioner shall be entitled to file in the Registry within five days from the receipt of the respondent’s reply, a Petitioner’s reply, in answer to the new issues of fact’ A literal and unambiguous reading and interpretation of this provision presupposes that the Petitioner has the liberty to file a reply in the light of new issues of facts in a Respondents reply. It has been emphasized in various authorities, that where a party fails to file a reply in denial or rebuttal of new facts or issues raised in the Respondents reply, the Petitioner would have been deemed to have admitted the new issues raised by the Respondent. See the case MICHAEL V YOUOSO 2004 15 NWLR PT 895 PG 96. The only embargo, is that a Petitioner is not entitled to set up in their reply to the Respondent’s replies to their petition, either a new cause of action, grounds or new facts outside or inconsistent with their Petition. See the cases of EMERHOR V OKOWA 2016 11 NWLR PT 1522 PG 1 AT 32-33 PARAS G-G; SYLVA V INEC 2018 18 NWLR PT 1651 PG 310 AT 352 PARAS F-H and EZEA V& ANOR V UGWANYI & ORS 2015 LPELR -40644 (CA).
— A. Osadebay, J. APC v INEC & Ors. (EPT/KN/GOV/01/2023, 20th Day of September, 2023)